Beloved

1 John 4:9-10 (ESV) 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.

 

 

The devotion for today is short because the scripture is so deep. I invite you to spend the next week drinking deep from this verse’s well. As we reflect, let's consider how its meaning shapes our journey today and always.

I often am sad that there will only be so much I can know about God on this side of glory. What about you? But I am comforted, and as the old hymns say, my heart is made glad because it is possible to know the love of God. The apostle John tells us that God's love has been made real, evident, and revealed in the fact that God sent Jesus. It is also encouraging to know that we live not just because of Jesus, but also through Jesus. God loves us because of who God is, and we have the evidence of God’s love for us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

If I allow it, knowing that God’s love is real and lets me live is enough. What about you? Is it enough for you? Can it be?

We are God’s own chosen beloved. Rest in that. Take joy, my friends, in that. Amen.