In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
I John 4:10&11 (ESV)
I admit it! I am deeply loved!
As a little girl growing up in New Hampton, Iowa, God reached down and touched my heart. He caused me to understand that He sent Jesus to completely satisfy and remove the penalty for my sin. To this day I am overwhelmed by His great love.
There have also been amazing people all along the way who said in word and action, “We are rooting for you!” Bill Mills, and his daughter, Donna, befriended my family and cared for me. When I was 18 years old it was Donna who opened the door to an exciting new life in Van Nuys, California.
There were others—actually too many to mention here—who noticed me and uniquely cared as well. Why did I become the object of their attention and affection? I know now it is because those of us who are deeply loved most sincerely desire to offer that same love to others.
Love lifted me! Love lifted me!
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me!
(Words to this old hymn were written by James Rowe in 1912)
What would our world be like if everything we did and said was motivated by the concept “love lifts?” Wouldn’t everyone around us feel we are “for them” and not against them? Those closest to us would experience it first and then a host of others. When moved, our love would also overflow into beautiful acts of generosity and sacrifice. Even waiters and waitresses who serve us would be blessed by our presence!
Out of love for us, God sacrificially sent His Son to meet a real need in us—even before we fully comprehended why. We are instruments of His love. Let love flow—and lift!