Looking Unto the Cross..... A devotional for day 12 of LENT Tuesday, March 21

1 John 4:7-21 How awesome & indescribable is God's love! If we could emulate even 1% of it, this world would be such a different place. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us... 1 John 4:10 God loves all of us, from the poorest to the richest, from the most humble to the most prideful, from the easiest to love to the most difficult (do you know anyone that's hard to love?). He loves those who are indifferent, unresponsive & ungrateful. God's love depends on who He is, not on who we are. Glenn Porter recently said that God's love for us is not like our earthly father's love for us; rather, God's love for us is like our love for our children. We have no control over how deeply our father loves us, but we have complete control over how much we love our children. Most parents, especially those in our churches, love their children & sacrifice daily for them. There are many times that our kids do very unlovable things, but we still love them. Even when they get into big trouble, we love them in spite of it; that's not to say we approve of their actions. Parents love their children even when the kids may be indifferent, unresponsive or ungrateful. We can only love our kids humanly & incompletely, but God's love for us is full & perfect. I don't think children understand how deep parental love is until they actually have a child of their own. Likewise, we will not fully understand God's love for us until we get to heaven in His most perfect place (and maybe not even then). If we love one another, God lives in us & His love is made complete in us... 1 John 4:12 Because of the way God loves us, we are to love each other. As a parent of two, my heart ached when my kids appeared not to love each other. It hurt me as much when they were indifferent to each other as it did when they were mean. Oh how we must disappoint God when we don't love each other or even when we're indifferent to each other. God wants us to take the love He has shown us & spread it to those around us. When this happens, His love is made complete in us. It's like the triangle to the right: God loves me; God loves you. I love God; I love you. You love God; God loves you. I love you; you love me. When we love the way God intended, His love becomes full, complete & never-ending like the circle! Mary Oberer Dayton, OH USA Father, One more time I confess, I don't understand how You could love me at all. But You do, and You show it not only to me directly, but through the lives of friends who inspire, challenge and support me in my walk with You. Help me to be a better inspiration, an accountability person and a giver of strength to those who see me today. "Let Your love flow through me." Amen Suggested Daily Scripture Reading [Psalms 61, 62] [Gen. 42:1-17] [ I Cor. 5:1-8] [Mark 3:19b-35] Visit: 1999 Advent/Christmas Series Epiphany Series You may send e-mail comments or suggestions toYvonne Edwards. Edited: Mar. 20, 6:00 a.m. Page designed by: Cecil Wallace Prayer by: Joe Hittle The background set is provided by Designs by Janis Cross button courtesy of The Christian Graphics Gallery Copyright © 2000 NazNet All rights reserved. International copyright secured.