Daily Devotion: He First Loved Us

Scripture:
John 13: 31-35

Main Verse:
John 13: 34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

Observation:
The Lord is truly a loving God. He does not choose to love only those that are worth loving, or only those that love Him. He loves everyone, including sinners. He loves the poor, the destitute, and the weak. That is why He commanded his disciples to love one another. He commanded them to love one another despite their imperfections. He told them to love one another just as He loved each one of them because in doing so, others would know that they are his disciples. Their actions would speak louder than words.

Application:
We do not deserve the kind of love that the Lord lets us experience, but He has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), not because we love Him but because being loving is God's character. We were sinners, and we were destined to die spiritually. But the Lord's graciousness and compassion is boundless. Only the Lord is capable of showing us this kind of love. Because the Lord is a loving God, it is therefore proper that we also love the Lord. We can never equal his everlasting love, but we can show to others how God is a loving God by loving others, even our enemies. The Lord first loved us; therefore we should make it our purpose in life to show to others how God's love has changed us and continues to change us.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for your faithful and infinite love. You never fail to show me how loving you are. Use my life as an example and teach me to be more loving so that others may witness your immeasurable love. AMEN.