February 2009 - Let’s Not Limit the Love Month
02/01/2009
I want to focus this love month on the fact that God loves you and what that truly means. If you will open you heart to truly see how much He loves you, everything else will grow dim in the light of who He is and it will calm the storms in your life.
We call February our “love” month because of its focus on Valentine’s Day and sweethearts. It’s focused on couples which limits the scope of what love really is about. In January our country placed a new President before us. On the TV screen, we saw faces of people with tears streaming down showing how they felt about this great event. We live in the greatest nation in the world and many say I love this nation! I know when I travel overseas I sure am glad to get back on USA soil! I say I sure do love the USA! But the love for this nation or the love of a person is certainly not the greatest love there is. My love for the Creator of the universe is not even the greatest love. The greatest of all love is His love for me (for you)!
I want to focus this love month on the fact that God loves you and what that truly means. If you will open you heart to truly see how much He loves you, everything else will grow dim in the light of who He is and it will calm the storms in your life. The Bible gives us a description of God’s love.
God’s love is forgiving. "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:1-7). A God who tenderly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess an extraordinary love. God has this kind of forgiving love for you, so don’t feel far from Him. He is searching for you with His forgiving love. People’s love may not forgive you, but God’s love will.
God’s love is beyond measure. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). We are facing a lot of upheaval in our country right now, but no matter what happens, nothing can come between us and God’s love. People’s love might fall away from you, but God’s love is eternally yours.
God’s love is sacrificial. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This is the Good News in a nutshell. God’s love is not self-centered. God gave His Son for us, the highest price He could pay. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins so we could have life. People’s love many times is self-centered, expecting something in return, but God’s love is selfless always drawing you closer to Him.
God’s love is limitless. “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Palm 136:1). God’s love includes kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. His love is like a well that will never run dry. People are just human and they have limits and they run cold with their love at times, but God is consistent and constant putting no limits on love.
So this month, whether or not you have a sweetheart, just know how much you are loved. Use this love month to mediate on the Creator of love who loves the creation he created! God is LOVE so when I know the source of true love, then I won’t ever be disappointed by people who fall short in the love department. When I mediate on the God kind of love that Jesus Christ has for me, I can wake up each day knowing that no matter what comes my way, God loves me and will take care of me. This means you too!