Thoughts for Life: #30 Your Love for the Unsaved

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: God so loved the world that He gave Jesus for the salvation of the world of sinners. All we are and all we have we owe to God's great love for us while we were rebels by our sinful acts.

Jesus died for us, not because we were so wonderful or good, but out of pure love. There is no more important way to repay God the Father and our loving Savior than to love the world which they still love with the same longing, redemptive love. (Google image, Jesus embracing a man)

GOD GIVES AGAPE LOVE

God depends on you and me to pass on His love. Every Christian has a debt to discharge that he can repay in no other way. God's love was "agape love" (the Greek word repeatedly used for God's love in the New Testament)—love for the unworthy, for the undeserving, love for sinners who by their actions and attitudes were His enemies (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21).

The Holy Spirit pours that same divine agape love into our hearts so that we love others with the same love for the unworthy, the undeserving, the sinners. We must love people because God loves them and calls us to represent and manifest His love to them.

It is comparatively easy to love God the Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit our Counselor and Helper. We respond to their great love which they lavish on us.

It is usually not too difficult to love our fellow Christians, for the church is to be a family of love. Love becomes most costly, often most difficult, and most God-given when we love the sinful, the hateful whose lives are filled with evil.

But this is the love God calls Christians to manifest. This is the agape love He gives us and gladly multiplies within us to pass on to our needy world.

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Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.

Ablaze for God
#30 Your Love for the Unsaved
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 113-114) ZondervanPublishingHouse

Today's Bible verses-

John 15:9 (NIV) "As the Father has loved me, so
have I loved you. Now remain in my love."

Prov. 3:6 (KJV) "In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths."

Ps. 79:9 (KJV) "Help us, O God of our salvation, for
the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away
our sins, for thy name's sake."

Ps. 33:18 (NIV) “…the eyes of the Lord are on those who
fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.”

1 Cor. 16:14 "Love one another. Love with the love of
Christ. Be known by your love. Let all that you do
be done in love."

Today's quotes-

~ Mary Southerland - "Today, I encourage you to surrender to God’s fathomless love for you. Don’t try to understand it. Don’t try to earn it. Don’t try to justify it. It is a gift – one you can truly celebrate and one in which you can make yourself at home.

Let’s Pray- Father, I come to You today in desperate need of Your love. I know I don’t deserve it and could never do enough good things to earn it. I am tired of trying, Lord. I surrender. I give You my heart and my soul and celebrate the way You love me. Please help me love others in the same way.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen."

~ Kelly Balarie- "When we remove shame, regret and self-hatred we can love far more easily. Without these self-focused love killers we find life as we realize Christ sees us not as we were, but as He is, with his image reflecting from us. This is the power of love." (From Kelly's post: How to Actually Love Well)

~ Lisa Buffaloe- "Oh, may we also love with the love of Jesus. The world is hurting, afraid, hopeless, and angry, they need to know there is hope, justice, comfort, strength, and grace found in the love of Christ.
For those of us who are Christians, let us be like Christ. We are ambassadors for Jesus, let’s live as true, loving ambassadors. Let’s be holy, for God is holy. Let’s love with the love of Christ. Let’s love one another. Let’s love with the gentle, tenderhearted, kindness, and patience of our Heavenly Father. Love with the gentle, tender, sweet, sacrificial love of Christ."

Today's question-

How do you choose to spend your time?

In Ps. 39:4 we are to ask the Lord to make us know our end, and the measure of our days, what it is; that we may know how frail we are. We are challenged to be more intentional as to who we spend our time with, who will minister to us, and what our purpose in life is.
As Christians, if we want to bare fruit for Jesus, we will need to be intentional in how we spend our time. What are our attitudes towards what we watch, say and do? Are there important lessons we gather from what and who we spend our time with? Are there things that need to be eliminated for our good?
We are to choose wisely what we are learn, as our brains are always attentive to all we see and hear. (See Eph. 5:5-17). [From some notes of a message of Andy Fox].