DEMONSTRATING (GOD’S LOVE)
September 16, 2019
Prayer: I ask You, Lord, to show me how to share Your love with someone I am having a difficult time with today.
Scripture: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV
We did not ask; we did not earn or deserve it. We did not do anything for Him first, He wasn’t repaying us, and we can never repay Him. Before we were born, before we even knew we needed Him, Christ died for us.
Living that example in our relationships, family, spouse, students, friends, even your enemies, means we must love, serve, sacrifice for and forgive before we are asked. Love does not keep score. We cannot expect anything from them in return. We cannot have a hidden agenda or any personal agenda for that matter. It is not easy to demonstrate God’s love. It takes a humble spirit and self-control. It means looking at other’s needs before yours. It means saying, “I am sorry” first. It takes prayer and God’s help but your sacrifice and pain will never come close to that of the cross. We love, serve, sacrifice, and forgive because that is what Christ did for us on a much larger and grander scale.
The dictionary had four definitions for the word “demonstrate.”
1. To show clearly and deliberately; manifest.
2. To show to be true by reasoning or adducing evidence; prove.
3. To present by experiments, examples, or practical application; explain and illustrate.
4. To show the use of (an article) to a prospective buyer.
In other words, a clear, deliberate example proven true through many examples and applications could result in many who not only consume it but reproduce it for the consumption of others.
Imagine what your students might accomplish, what relationships they may attain, what positions they could achieve if they learn these valuable life lessons from your demonstration this year.
If you have a relationship that is suffering ask yourself – better yet – ask them how you could better love them, serve them and sacrifice for them. If they have hurt you in any way, forgive them as your Father in Heaven has forgiven you. My prayer for you is that you would demonstrate God’s love at all times.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]