The gift of love

I've been reading and meditating on 1 John for a while now. My morning prayers have been transformed and the goal of my day is simply to love-- to let the love of God shine through me.

God's love is sacrificial love.

"By this we know love, that He laid down His live for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." 1 John 3:16

My love needs to be sacrificial love.

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." 1 John 3:18

"And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us." 1John 3:23

Then, at the end of the day when I see just how I have failed to do this as I should, I am encouraged that one day I shall be like Him.

"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2

And so we have the glorious hope of the resurrection!

~

I have some boys who love to give their mommy flowers. Often the flowers I receive are considered weeds by most standards. They are not always the most usable flowers since many times the stems are too short or missing entirely. Sometimes they come at inconvenient times, like when my hands are full or as we're about to step into church or someones house. Sometimes a dandelion comes to me from beneath a stop sign or lamp pole, and I think to myself that surely a dog has peed on it. Nonetheless, I love the fact that they think of me and desire to be affectionate towards me. Whatever the gift, whether they are flowers, stones, crushed rock, or a "treasure" found on the sidewalk, I try to be thankful and to reciprocate affection. This isn't always easily done, as I'm sure any mother knows.

(He made me a "special drink" from a sour orange...)

Jon introduced me to this sweet song a while back. It made me tear up the first time I heard it because I have boys who give me flowers, and because I have a Savior who laid down His life so that I may live!

The Hand Song by Nickel Creek

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another." 1 John 4: 7-11

(These were picked for me "from the side of the road" on a recent evening run. The trouble is we don't have a "side of the road" that isn't personal property, just people's yards and flower beds.)

~Katherine