A friend posted a meme on Facebook the other day. It said, “If you understood how much God loves you, you would break down and cry.”
I replied, “I do. And we only grasp a little bit.”
I think the Apostle John could have posted that meme, as well as posted that reply. His entire first letter is all about loving God, loving each other, and being loved by God Himself.
By coincidence, the day before I read that meme on Facebook, I was reading through John’s first letter, I drew up short at the beginning of Chapter 3. “Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children.” [1John 3:1 HCSB]
I could barely get by that first word, “Look.” The KJV translates it as “Behold,” and it means “I see, look upon, experience, perceive, discern.”
Wow! We are to look upon, as well as also experience the great love the Father has given us. The great love the Father has given us is not just to be something we know as truth in our minds. It is to be experienced throughout every part of our lives.
That great love is to govern everything … the great times, the difficult times, the times of success, the times of failures, the time of joy and the times of sorrow. It gets down in the trenches with us. It travels with us through grief and regret. It lifts us up when the world seeks to press us down. It causes us to thrive in times of tribulation.
Look, Experience, that great love the Father has given us.
Today: Thank you Father for calling me Your child.
