LOVE

Love…..

It’s the word of the month…. LOVE….

We say it all the time. We say it to our husband (I say it way more than him!! J). We say it to our kids (Liam can’t say it just yet, but he definitely knows how to show it). We say it to our friends (I am lucky to have the best friends ever). We say it to our family (I have more mom’s and dad’s than most people….lots of love right there). We say it all the time.

But where does love come from??

1John 4:19

We love Him[a] because He first loved us

Love came from God. He created it. It’s the emotion He had while creating us. It’s the emotion He had when he called Abraham to be the father of all Nations. It’s the emotion He had when he saved Noah out of the flood. It’s the emotion He had when he saved Moses as a baby. It’s the emotion He had when He called disciples. It’s the emotion He had when He healed the multitudes. It’s the emotion He had when He sent his only son Jesus to die for us. It’s that emotion that saved us. It’s that emotion that healed us. It’s that emotion that we were set free.

God LOVES us. And I LOVE him.

We have all heard the story of Jesus dying on the cross. But by default because of our busy lives, our routines, or religious deeds that is all it ever becomes is a story. A story that we do love and a story we cherish… but it’s a story.

Do you remember the first moment in your life when it wasn’t just a story it was an experience, it was a moment, it was a movement in your heart. It was in that moment that the heaviness of God’s love flooded your life. You realized what Jesus actually did for you.

I can remember a few of those moments. I can remember the first time I felt it. I remember when I watched the movie The Passion of Christ I felt it then. I remember once when I was just driving with the beautiful hills of Arkansas as my background, I felt it then. I remember listening to a message someone preached once, I felt it then. And I felt it just the other day during a devotion.

We have those moments where we just stand still, we have to stand still, when you really realize God’s love for you it’s paralyzing.

So I encourage you this month---The month of LOVE to have one of those moments. Ponder what God really did for you. He sent his only Son to die on a cross so that you can be saved, so that you can live in freedom, so that you can be near him, so that you can be healed, so that you can love others but mostly because he LOVES you.

Have a moment….but then stay in that moment…forever!!