Freely Speaking Audio Devotion

“Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10 KJV).

The love chapter comes to mind when we think of scripture concerning love. In I Corinthians Chapter 13, Paul describes how to love God and others for the believers at Corinth. But Jesus’ beloved friend John explains love even better in I John 4:10.

John walked with our Savior and knew Him deeply. In his writings, John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved, or BFF in today’s vernacular. That is why we should pay close attention to this scripture. John uses the word “herein” as an attention-getter. THIS is love, he screams at us. Then, instead of telling us what love is, he tells us what it is not. Not that we loved Him. We didn’t love Him. He loved “US” and then gave His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

That is a powerful scripture, but it doesn’t end there. The next verse says we can love others because of God's great love for us. This love is the kind of heart-melting love felt when a child or grandchild says, “I love you.”

Recently, our two-year-old granddaughter said, “Can I snuggle with you, gammo?” The least snuggly of all the granddaughters wanted to snuggle. I almost cried as I picked her up and held her close. You can have deep love for others because God first loved us.

How is your love life? Is there someone you need to love that is hard to love? Or are you struggling during this month of love because someone you loved so much is no longer in your life?  Please share with us in the comments below.