Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.[1 John 4:8-10]
The passage above tells us that "God is love."
Once, years ago, I said that to a skeptical unbeliever. His reply was, "And just what does love look like?"
Back then he had me stymied. Since then, I've tried to come up with an answer to his question. If you don't mind, I'd like to share some of what I've discovered.
I've seen love at weddings, no, not the love between the bride and groom. You won't find love, at least not in its purest form, looking at them. If you want to see real love at weddings, look at the grandmothers. All through the day they have a smile on their faces as they remember their wedding from long ago. They have no illusions. They remember the lows and highs the starry-eyed bride and groom cannot imagine. These grandmothers would share their memories and their wisdom, if someone asked them, but nobody does ... so they just love.
* I've seen love in the smile of a father who watches his seven-year-old, mentally challenged daughter tie her shoes for the first time.
* I've seen love in the hand of an 83-year-old widow who was going to the nursing home. As she slowly shut the door of the house where she had happily lived for so many years, her caress of that doorknob shows love for a life well-lived.
* I've seen love in the face of a young adult who sheds a tear every time she takes Communion.
* I've seen love in the eyes of a mother who watches for her son to get off the plane, which brings him back from combat duty overseas.
Yes, I've seen love in humans, but I also know we have a difficult time sustaining our love. All too often it is a bright light that flickers and then quickly fades.
God's love has no such limitations.
His is a love that reaches out over the centuries. When Adam and Eve sinned, God showed His love. Rather than allowing them to be doomed and damned in hell, He gave them the promise that a Savior would come. When the children of Israel danced around a golden calf, God was furious, but He still was love. The Bible bears witness that the Lord has consistently, constantly, continuously loved His people -- all people, in every generation, in every age.
Do you wish to see God's love?
If so, look into the Bethlehem manger, pray in Gethsemane's Garden, stand before the Roman cross, and go into the empty tomb. There you will see a love so pure, so undeserved that it is unique in all the world. Never before and never again will the world see such care and compassion.
These places show that God is love.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that we -- having seen and been saved by Your love -- may reflect that love to a world, which is lonely, lost and despairing. May they also see the Savior who is visible proof of Your love. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
The passage above tells us that "God is love."
Once, years ago, I said that to a skeptical unbeliever. His reply was, "And just what does love look like?"
Back then he had me stymied. Since then, I've tried to come up with an answer to his question. If you don't mind, I'd like to share some of what I've discovered.
I've seen love at weddings, no, not the love between the bride and groom. You won't find love, at least not in its purest form, looking at them. If you want to see real love at weddings, look at the grandmothers. All through the day they have a smile on their faces as they remember their wedding from long ago. They have no illusions. They remember the lows and highs the starry-eyed bride and groom cannot imagine. These grandmothers would share their memories and their wisdom, if someone asked them, but nobody does ... so they just love.
* I've seen love in the smile of a father who watches his seven-year-old, mentally challenged daughter tie her shoes for the first time.
* I've seen love in the hand of an 83-year-old widow who was going to the nursing home. As she slowly shut the door of the house where she had happily lived for so many years, her caress of that doorknob shows love for a life well-lived.
* I've seen love in the face of a young adult who sheds a tear every time she takes Communion.
* I've seen love in the eyes of a mother who watches for her son to get off the plane, which brings him back from combat duty overseas.
Yes, I've seen love in humans, but I also know we have a difficult time sustaining our love. All too often it is a bright light that flickers and then quickly fades.
God's love has no such limitations.
His is a love that reaches out over the centuries. When Adam and Eve sinned, God showed His love. Rather than allowing them to be doomed and damned in hell, He gave them the promise that a Savior would come. When the children of Israel danced around a golden calf, God was furious, but He still was love. The Bible bears witness that the Lord has consistently, constantly, continuously loved His people -- all people, in every generation, in every age.
Do you wish to see God's love?
If so, look into the Bethlehem manger, pray in Gethsemane's Garden, stand before the Roman cross, and go into the empty tomb. There you will see a love so pure, so undeserved that it is unique in all the world. Never before and never again will the world see such care and compassion.
These places show that God is love.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant that we -- having seen and been saved by Your love -- may reflect that love to a world, which is lonely, lost and despairing. May they also see the Savior who is visible proof of Your love. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
2 Chronicles 13:1 It was in the eighteenth year of King Yarov‘am that Aviyah began his reign over Y’hudah. 2 He ruled three years in Yerushalayim; his mother’s name was Mikhayahu the daughter of Uri’el from Giv‘ah.
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
__________________________
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
2 Chronicles 13:1 It was in the eighteenth year of King Yarov‘am that Aviyah began his reign over Y’hudah. 2 He ruled three years in Yerushalayim; his mother’s name was Mikhayahu the daughter of Uri’el from Giv‘ah.
There was war between Aviyah and Yarov‘am. 3 Aviyah joined the battle with an army of valiant soldiers, 400,000 select troops; while Yarov‘am took the field against him with 800,000 select troops who were valiant, strong men.
4 Aviyah, standing on Mount Z’marayim, in the hills of Efrayim, cried, “Yarov‘am and all Isra’el! Listen to me! 5 Don’t you know that Adonai, the God of Isra’el, gave rulership over Isra’el to David forever, to him and his descendants, by a covenant of salt [which is unbreakable]? 6 Yet Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, servant to Shlomo the son of David, rose in rebellion against his lord. 7 There rallied around him worthless brutes who were too strong for Rechav‘am the son of Shlomo to withstand when he was young and inexperienced. 8 Now you expect to withstand the kingdom of Adonai in the hands of the descendants of David. Yes, there are a great number of you, and you have with you the gold calves that Yarov‘am made as gods for you. 9 Yes, you drove out the cohanim of Adonai, the descendants of Aharon, and the L’vi’im; and you made yourselves priests as do the peoples in other countries, so that anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of those non-gods.
10 “But we are different. Adonai is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have cohanim performing the service for Adonai, descendants of Aharon. With the L’vi’im doing their work, 11 they burn to Adonai every morning and evening burnt offerings and sweet incense; they arrange the showbread on the pure table, and they prepare the gold menorah with its lamps to burn every evening. For we observe the order of Adonai our God. But you have abandoned him.
12 “So look here! God is with us, leading us and his cohanim with the battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you. People of Isra’el! Don’t fight against Adonai, the God of your ancestors; because you will not succeed.”
13 But Yarov‘am prepared to ambush them from behind, so that the main body was ahead of Y’hudah, while the ambush was behind them. 14 Thus when Y’hudah looked back, the battle had to be fought in front of them and behind them.
They cried to Adonai, and the cohanim sounded the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Y’hudah gave forth a shout, and as the men of Y’hudah shouted, God struck Yarov‘am and all Isra’el before Aviyah and Y’hudah. 16 The people of Isra’el fled before Y’hudah, and God handed them over to them. 17 Aviyah and his army inflicted a great slaughter on them — 500,000 of Isra’el’s select soldiers fell dead. 18 Thus the people of Isra’el were subdued that time, and the people of Y’hudah won the victory, because they relied on Adonai the God of their ancestors. 19 Aviyah pursued Yarov‘am, taking from him the towns of Beit-El with its villages, Y’shanah with its villages and ‘Efrayin with its villages. 20 Yarov‘am did not recover his strength during the time of Aviyahu. Finally Adonai struck him, and he died. 21 But Aviyahu grew strong; he married fourteen wives and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 Other activities of Aviyah, together with his ways of doing things and his sayings, are recorded in the commentary of the prophet ‘Iddo. 23 (14:1) Aviyah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son became king in his place; during his time the land was quiet for ten years.
14:1 (2) Asa did what was good and right from the perspective of Adonai his God; 2 (3) for he removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashing the standing-stones and chopping down the sacred poles. 3 (4) He ordered Y’hudah to seek Adonai, the God of their ancestors, and to obey the Torah and the mitzvah. 4 (5) He removed the high places and pillars for sun-worship from all the cities of Y’hudah, and under him the kingdom was quiet.
5 (6) Because the land was quiet, and he had no war during those years, since Adonai had given him rest, he built fortified cities in Y’hudah. 6 (7) “Let’s build these cities,” he said to Y’hudah; “we’ll surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars. The land is there for us to use, because we have sought Adonai our God; we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered.
7 (8) Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Y’hudah, equipped with shields and spears, and another 280,000 from Binyamin, with shields and bows; all were brave, strong men. 8 (9) Zerach the Ethiopian came out to attack them with an army of one million and three hundred chariots. When he arrived at Mareshah, 9 (10) Asa went out to fight him, and the forces were arranged for battle in the Tz’fat Valley at Mareshah.
10 (11) Asa cried out to Adonai his God, “Adonai, there is no one besides yourself, strong or weak, who can help. Help us, Adonai our God, because we are relying on you, and we are coming against this vast throng in your name. You are Adonai our God; don’t let human beings stop you!” 11 (12) So Adonai struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Y’hudah, and the Ethiopians fled. 12 (13) Asa and the army with him pursued them to G’rar, and the Ethiopians were defeated beyond recovery; they were shattered before Adonai and his army, who carried off much spoil. 13 (14) Then they attacked all the cities in the vicinity of G’rar, for a panic from Adonai had overcome them. They plundered all the cities, for they were full of spoil. 14 (15) They also attacked the tents of those tending the livestock and carried off sheep and camels in abundance. Then they returned to Yerushalayim.
2 Corinthians 4:1 God has shown us such mercy that we do not lose courage as we do the work he has given us. 2 Indeed, we refuse to make use of shameful underhanded methods, employing deception or distorting God’s message. On the contrary, by making very clear what the truth is, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 So if indeed our Good News is veiled, it is veiled only to those in the process of being lost. 4 They do not come to trust because the god of the ‘olam hazeh has blinded their minds, in order to prevent them from seeing the light shining from the Good News about the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of God. 5 For what we are proclaiming is not ourselves, but the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, with ourselves as slaves for you because of Yeshua. 6 For it is the God who once said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. 8 We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; 9 persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed. 10 We always carry in our bodies the dying of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may be manifested in our bodies too. 11 For we who are alive are always being handed over to death for Yeshua’s sake, so that Yeshua’s life also might be manifested in our mortal bodies. 12 Thus death is at work in us but life in you.
13 The Tanakh says, “I trusted, therefore I spoke.”[2 Corinthians 4:13 Psalm 116:10] Since we have that same Spirit who enables us to trust, we also trust and therefore speak; 14 because we know that he who raised the Lord Yeshua will also raise us with Yeshua and bring us along with you into his presence. 15 All this is for your sakes, so that as grace flows out to more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to overflow and bring glory to God.
16 This is why we do not lose courage. Though our outer self is heading for decay, our inner self is being renewed daily. 17 For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. 18 We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.
____________________________
The Lutheran Hour660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
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