Friday Reading: John 11:32-36
Key Verse: John 11:36
36 Then the Jews said, Behold how He loved him!
Devotion:
We like to think that we know that God loves us and we like to think that we know to some extent how much that love is – but in reality we can only guess or surmise because we do not know God’s heart. The very fact that Christ came to us as a human allows us to see some insights into that love through the very things that He did as a human. When He was confronted with the death of Lazarus we can see that He had real feelings because of the fact that His spirit groaned from within and then He also cried. Emotion is something that we let out that allows others to see how we feel – some do try desperately to hide that emotion because they see it as some sort of sign of weakness... I hardly think that Jesus was weak!
The love that Jesus has for each one of us is beyond that which we can think of. We can see one or two facets as we study the life and times of Jesus as He walked amongst us but we can never fully understand His love. The more that we get to know Him the more that we realise how much He loves us. The more we get to understand that the more that we love Him back. That is our relationship with Christ. It is a full, loving relationship that we continue to grow in. He is not bound by our limits nor our timescales so His love knows no bounds; but the very fact that He showed us His love before we even came to know Him speaks volumes to me.
When things go wrong in our lives we tend to look for someone to blame and whilst we are thinking of it we sometimes even blame God because He allowed these things in our lives. How can we really do that? How can we blame someone when we don’t understand them? When Mary blamed Christ He groaned in the spirit... He was hurt and He showed it. Do you suppose that He is hurt any less when any of us blame Him? Don’t take the love of Christ as a limited and fickle thing because He loves us is ways we cannot yet imagine. Each day I live I begin to add a bit more of that love into my life because I see how much He loves me more and more. Let us show our love for Him today.
Points to Ponder:
How do you show your love to others?
How do you show your love to God?
Key Verse: John 11:36
36 Then the Jews said, Behold how He loved him!
Devotion:
We like to think that we know that God loves us and we like to think that we know to some extent how much that love is – but in reality we can only guess or surmise because we do not know God’s heart. The very fact that Christ came to us as a human allows us to see some insights into that love through the very things that He did as a human. When He was confronted with the death of Lazarus we can see that He had real feelings because of the fact that His spirit groaned from within and then He also cried. Emotion is something that we let out that allows others to see how we feel – some do try desperately to hide that emotion because they see it as some sort of sign of weakness... I hardly think that Jesus was weak!
The love that Jesus has for each one of us is beyond that which we can think of. We can see one or two facets as we study the life and times of Jesus as He walked amongst us but we can never fully understand His love. The more that we get to know Him the more that we realise how much He loves us. The more we get to understand that the more that we love Him back. That is our relationship with Christ. It is a full, loving relationship that we continue to grow in. He is not bound by our limits nor our timescales so His love knows no bounds; but the very fact that He showed us His love before we even came to know Him speaks volumes to me.
When things go wrong in our lives we tend to look for someone to blame and whilst we are thinking of it we sometimes even blame God because He allowed these things in our lives. How can we really do that? How can we blame someone when we don’t understand them? When Mary blamed Christ He groaned in the spirit... He was hurt and He showed it. Do you suppose that He is hurt any less when any of us blame Him? Don’t take the love of Christ as a limited and fickle thing because He loves us is ways we cannot yet imagine. Each day I live I begin to add a bit more of that love into my life because I see how much He loves me more and more. Let us show our love for Him today.
Points to Ponder:
How do you show your love to others?
How do you show your love to God?