Sunday 10 Nov 2013

Sunday Reading: Romans 12:9-16

Key Verse: Romans 12:12
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

Devotion:
When you are thinking about real love, reading this passage may seem a bit alien in that you may not be able to see what all this negativity is about; but if you have ever told someone that you love them just to make them happy or to keep the peace, then you will get a whole different meaning from this passage! Love is so very pure and honest when it is real. It reaches deep down into the soul and lifts up the spirit in incredible ways that we cannot imagine until we have been there.

Loving some people is so very easy and yet loving others can be hard work when they do not let you get close. It certainly does not help when we have so much negative press with people abusing others just because they have a position of authority over them. But real Christian love will go so much further than being able to stand up to bad press, it will renew the soul and mend the broken heart.

Love must not have conditions attached to it and must never depend on someone else’s love or feelings. Love must not have limits placed on it, though we all do that! We should not have to wait until people are in a bad place before we step forward and offer them our unconditional love, because it should be exactly that, unconditional love. Love must always uphold all righteousness and must never work against God’s plan. We do get caught up in things and lose track of God’s plan at times because we are forgetting just how much God loves each of us.

Even though I am reminded every day about God’s love for me, I always seem to think that I have fallen short at some stage which brings up a barrier that is hard to get over. Trusting God’s love is hard to do until you get to experience it and depend on it; then things become a whole lot easier. We must always rejoice in the hope that we have in the love that Christ has already demonstrated to us. Be patient whilst the world around us breaks up. Always lift up your prayers to a God that listens!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like love?

Are you trusting in Christ’s love?