What is the greatest gift someone could give you?
Love is not a feeling. It’s an action.
And it’s the greatest gift anyone can give me.
I first heard about this love from a priest during a lunchtime mass at school.
Then I truly understood what this meant in my mid-twenties.
This radical love shown by Jesus changed my life. And I vowed to follow him all my days.
I also soon realised that this love for Christ wasn’t my own — that even my faith stemmed from God’s amazing love for me.
In Ephesians, Paul writes:
In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will
Ephesians 1:4-5
God loved us before we existed! He chose us before we drew breath.
I had thought God was rightly angry at me for my many sins. That the only way to appease that wrath was to hide in Jesus.
But wrath wasn’t the motivation for his radical salvation plan.
God’s love for us is so vast and its depth so deep he lavishes on us something incredible.
It says there right in the Bible. In LOVE he predestined us for adoption.
He loved me before I could do anything for him. He knew I would sin. He knew I would grow up twisted and flawed, unable to save myself. And because he loved me, he sent something so utterly precious to him to save me.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
He sent Jesus because he loved his enemies. He sent Jesus so a flawed, selfish, sinner like me wouldn’t have to face his judgement.
We Christians are therefore loved. Beyond time. Beyond death. By the creator of all things.
And the greatest gift that someone could give me, is this radical message of love and forgiveness.
It changed my life…both now and into eternity.
And I now love (albeit imperfectly), because he first loved me.
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
1 John 4:19-20
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14 responses to “Love”
[…] Love […]
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Amen, sister!
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🙏🙏🙏
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I love your reply. It parallels mine on “grace”: https://consultingstatistics.wordpress.com/2024/01/04/grace-received-not-accepted/. I also love your reply in the thread. God speaks to us through his Word. Sola Deo gloria.
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Grace is indeed incredible and amazing! Thank you for your post 😁
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Please pray for me i need to hear from God .
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Open your Bible. God’s word is right there!
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hey
cool blog 🙂 will give it a follow and a like !
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Sure! 😁
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What a wonderful post. Thanks for this, Aggie! I love thinking about the fact that, while we believe in God, he believed in us before we were even us. God believing in me really makes me smile on those darker days!
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I’m so glad Rebecca. He really is amazing!
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This is such a beautiful response to today’s prompt, Aggie. It’s so true – God loves us so much and in love, He gave us Jesus. Thank you for reminding me of God’s great mercy in your blog post. I hope your 2024 is filled with lots of love xx
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Thank you so much for dropping by Janet and for your kind comment. Much love to you in 2024 also.
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