God’s Love is for All
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help us fully appreciate how much you love us as we read the devotions this week. Amen
READ:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NIV
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” James 2:1 NIV
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 NIV
REFLECT:
Most all of us have memorized John 3:16 “For God so loved the world….” While most of us have faith that God really does love us this much, it is hard to fully internalize that he does. If any of us had been treated the way he has been through the ages I am not sure we could be as loving as he has been by sending his son, Jesus, to die for all of us.
Jesus further demonstrated their (The Trinity’s) love for us when:
“He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He did not claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” (Philippians 2:5-8 MSG)
Romans 5:6-8 above sums up God’s demonstration of his love for all of us when he was willing to let Christ die for us while we were yet still sinners.
APPLY:
As we interact with others this week, we must remember and meditate on the Scriptures that demonstrate how much God loves all of us and model this love for individuals we meet.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord, help me demonstrate the all-encompassing love for others as you have for me. Amen