Know God's Love, Show God's Love

 

We traveled to France last year. We stopped in Giverny, where Claude Monet had his studio and painted some of his most famous works. We got to see the settings for many of his paintings. Monet is my favorite artist. I like Impressionism, where the artist captures the essence of a subject without necessarily trying to record all the exact details.

 

We may get down on ourselves when we think about our faults and shortcomings. Some of us may even feel unlovable at times. The truth is, when God looks at us, He doesn’t see all our sins and imperfections. He sees the essence of who we are, redeemed children through the sacrifice of His Son. As John writes, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). God loves us totally and perfectly and He wants us to know just how much He cares for us. He wants to let His love flow through us, filling us with its healing power, transforming us into the people He created us to be. He calls us to open ourselves to Him today, in prayer and in His Word, that we might appreciate the full measure of His love.

 

When we experience the love of a spouse or other loved one, we feel an internal warmth in our heart that radiates externally, such that others around us notice that there is something different about us. We can be witnesses to the world of God’s great love by our words and actions – people should look at us and know that we are in love!

 

When we know that we are deeply loved, we are able to love the people around us. John goes on to say, “Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:11-12). If we know God’s love, we must show God’s love.

 

Enjoy God’s love today, rest in it, and share it with all those you meet.

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The individual posts in this blog have been collected into a book, Reflections From the Basic Truths Blog.  It is available for free as an ebook through Barnes and Noble, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reflections-from-the-basic-truths-blog-james-yarmchuk/1147055811?ean=2940181202702, Apple Books, and multiple other book websites. It is available for a minimal charge on Amazon and can also be purchased as a paperback through them.