Focus: Love Like No Other (continued)

Text: 1Jh.3:1

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God..."

God's love is a wonder. His love beats our imagination and staggers our human mind. His love is beyond reason.

The word 'behold' is 'idete' in Greek, and it's plural, meaning, 'See, see!' O, see, see the marvel of divine love! See what God's love can do. See the change it makes in one's life. See the power of God's love at work in the world.

I once put together an acronym on LOVE from this text. God loves me:

*Lavishly

He is lavishing his love on me. O what an extravagant and extraordinary love!

*Openly

His love for me is no secret. It's visible and tangible. He says, "Thou art all fair, my love." Mary and Martha say to Jesus, "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." When the people saw him weep with Mary, they said, "Behold how he loved him." Jesus is openly in love with me.

*Verily

His love is true and real, not fake. I am experiencing the reality of God's love. Concrete love. Authentic love. Original love. Down-to-earth love. Not fiction. Not abstract. Not an illusion. No fantasy. It's touchable.

*Extremely

John records this, "...having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end" - Jh.13:1. He doesn't love halfway. He loves all the way. He loves me endlessly - eternally. People dash in and out of love - no commitment and no perseverance. They quit on you even for the minutest reason. But God's love for us is everlasting.

O, behold what manner of love...! Love so different, so out of this world, so unique, so touching and thrilling! Thank you Jesus for loving me! I am eternally thankful for Christmas.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Jesus remains the reason for the season.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter