JULY 8, 2013
Jesus
Loves Me
Read: Romans 8:31-39
Keep yourselves in the love of God. —Jude 1:21
On
cold days, our old dog moves around the yard, finding a sunny spot to stretch
out on the grass to keep herself in the warmth of the sun.
This
reminds me that we must “keep” ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21). That
doesn’t mean we have to act in some special way to make God love us (although
our
desire is to please Him). Because we are His children we’re loved no matter
what we
do or fail to do. It means instead that we should think about His love
and bask in its
radiance and warmth all day long.
“[Nothing]
shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Rom. 8:39). He loved
us
before we were born, and He loves us now. This is our identity in Christ; it is
who
we are—God’s beloved children. That’s something to think about throughout
the day.
Five
times in John’s gospel he described himself as the disciple Jesus loved
(13:23;
19:26; 20:2; 21:7,20). Jesus loved His other disciples too, but John reveled
in
the fact that Jesus loved him! We can adopt John’s theme—“I am the disciple
Jesus
loves!”—and repeat it to ourselves all day long. Or we can sing that
familiar children’s
song in our hearts, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” As we
carry that truth with us
throughout the day, we’ll bask in the warmth of His
love!
I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see—
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me. —Bliss
God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He
is.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2013
