“God is love” is a widely used statement.  When I ask my Youth to describe Jesus using only one word, the word they always choose is “love.”  If we ask how much God or Jesus loves us, we know we cannot quantify the answer.  Their love for us is so vast we cannot comprehend it.  In the Bible our greatest example of ‘how much’ is found on the cross.  In this we get an inkling not only of how much but also the idea that love is intended to be shared or given away to and for others.

In my Upper Room Devotional book, today’s reading contains these words: “The person with true love from God displays the same kind of unconditional love towards all just as Jesus evidenced that agape love toward us.  We do not even consider refusing the needs of a sister or brother in need.”  If you were like me, you were thinking “yep, yep, yep…” as you read the first sentence.  Then you too got to the second sentence.  Conviction time!

As I wrestled with that second line, I came to realize this was really true of Jesus – He didn’t refuse anyone.  As I went further with these thoughts, I came to again see that this idea extended to the cross.  He didn’t die for some of our sins or for a select group of sinners.  Jesus died for all the sins of all the people.  When we are called to follow the example of Christ and to love our neighbors, God means all the people, all the time.  May God grant the strength, faith, and love necessary to walk this path of unconditional love and to do as Jesus did.

Scripture reference: 1 John 3: 16-24