Fourth Week in Lent
Love Forever
Scripture: John 3:14-21
Monday, March 5
Scripture: John 3:14-21
A biblical verse many children first commit to memory is the essence of Christianity found in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Of all scripture, this one verse represents the embodiment of belief: (1) God loves; (2) He gave his only Son; (3) that whoever believes should not perish, but (4) shall have eternal life. The love of God is forever with us reminding each believer that God will always be with us. Doesn’t this resonate when we examine anew Matthew 28:20, reflecting on “Those departed souls we love are with the Lord…and the Lord has promised to be with us,” with special emphasis on “Behold, I am with you always.” Another way to cast a new light on this passage is to cap this thought with the truism that if our loved ones are with Him and He is with us, they cannot be far away.
So embrace through faith what is expressed in the words of John Oxenham, who penned the thought –
Not for one single day
Can I discern my way
But this I surely know –
Who gives the day
Will show the way,
So I securely go.
For this is how love that abides forever is best expressed for those in this world as surely as those in the world that is to come.
Prayer: Help us to recall, O God, that in true love we recognize an effort made for the happiness of others that lifts us above ourselves. So may love be around us in all circumstances just as we were taught in learning to sing the well-known children’s hymn, “Jesus loves me this I know…”
– Bill Brown