GOD IS LOVE
As a child in grade school, I remember Valentine’s Day. Each year a box was decorated so we could place valentines in it for others in our class. Then on Valentine’s Day we would have cupcakes and other snacks made by parents, as we gave out the valentines. The “rule” was if you gave valentines you must have one for every member of the class so no one felt left out.
Even at that age there were some in the class that you may not particularly want to send a valentine to, but you did anyway. In those cases you usually checked carefully what simple message was on the card. Usually they were mostly general phrases anyway.
The night He was betrayed, Jesus gave His disciples the command to “Love one another” and in I John 4:8 we read, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” It is evident in Scripture that God wants us to love all people. As sinful humans this is a real challenge. People who offend us in some way or do evil, we feel are not worthy of our love.
Maybe we need to process our thoughts in a different way. Is it the person we don’t like, or his or her actions that we find offensive? I know it is hard to separate the sin from the sinner. Yet remember what we know as truth – “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” Under the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are able to disagree and not condone the actions of others, but yet show love. We can remember to pray for those who do wrong, that the Holy Spirit will work on their hearts also. “God so loved us that He sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” and the sins of all.
Lent begins this month. Ash Wednesday is February 17th. Each Sunday following, leading up to Good Friday and Easter, our services will be special emphasizing the various places Jesus went before He was crucified. The season is a season of repentance. This is a good time to invite others to join us in worship. Continue to show love to others.
Rev. James W. Rhiver, Pastor
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