Love is Paying it Forward
Are the people in your life easy to love?
Verse of the Day
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:1
Today’s Devotional
Sometimes in this life, there are issues that arise with other humans in our lives. Life and relationships can be messy. Not only do we have differing opinions, preferences, and goals, but we are all at different stages of maturity and spiritual development.
The author of First John (believed to be the apostle John) is trying to help a group of believers that have had a portion of their fellowship leave. Those who left had chosen to believe that Jesus the human could not possibly have been divine because the flesh is inherently evil. So they bailed.
That leaves a group of true believers who are unsettled. Are they in the right? What should they believe? What really is true?
Have you ever had questions like that about your life and faith? Have you ever been unsettled? Have you ever doubted? Have you ever wondered what really is true? I have.
The author boils it down to a simple level. Jesus is the Son of God. Period. If anyone declares otherwise, they are not from God. He also emphasizes some powerful “fruit” that should result in believing in Jesus. That fruit is Christ-like love for God and for others.
But sometimes other humans are REALLY hard to love. Sometimes they are just so very unlovable.
Apparently, loving those who are unlovable is all about perspective. God chose you before you began to seek Him. He chose a plan of salvation for you before you were even born. He loves you when you are mired in sin. He loves you even when you doubt. He loves you even when you royally mess things up. He loves you whether or not you accept His love and choose Him. In other words, God loves you even when you are very unlovable. So if God can love me before I accept Him, before I repent, before I make Him the focus of my life and heart, before I am even remotely lovable….then I can do that for others. And I can do that only with His help and the daily guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Think of this kind of love as a “pay it forward” situation. You’ve heard stories of someone buying the coffee and food for the person behind him in the drive-thru line. That person then pays for the person behind them. And so on. The first recipient of this random kindness did nothing to deserve it except for being in the right place at the right time.
Everyone who crosses my path should be the right person at the right time to receive a piece of God’s love. The love that God gives me even though I don’t deserve it. I should always be willing to pay forward the precious love that has been given (and is constantly being given) to me.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How do you think you are doing in the “fruit” department? If our “fruit” is love for God and love for others, how is your harvest?
How can you shift your perspective to embrace the love God has for you and then pay that forward?
How can you love others simply because God loves you?