No Greater Love

 

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13


When I think of the love of God and how He extends that love to me, my mind can not comprehend it all.  As a child I never really understood or grasped the concept of love within my home.  We did not hug one another nor did we say "I Love You" to each other.  If you did the next thing you knew there were jokes spoken about you and how mushy you had become.  The outward affection of love within the home was thought of as weakness and based on the environment you grew up in, it just became the norm. 

Fast forwarding to adulthood those same thoughts and mindsets became a part of my everyday life.  In the back of my mind was embedded you do not show affection or love because people will take advantage of you.  In turn, an invisible wall was put up and I dared anyone to cross it.  If they tried to cross it they were to be cut off right at the curb.  Some of you reading this devotional are probably shaking your head in agreement or saying "Amen".  It was not until I really formed a relationship with God that I began to understand His love for me.  Notice, I did not write that "once I got saved" but "not until I really formed a relationship" with God.  Getting saved did not make me automatically understand the depth of the love that God had for me.  Oh, do not get me wrong, I knew God loved me because He saved me.  That was not the issue.  My issue was how deep was His love for me.  Would He love me if I did not always obey? Would He love me if I messed up?  Would He love me if I did not do what He told me at a certain time?  I wanted to know if God would still love me even when I was not perfect.  Why, did I ask such questions?  I asked such questions because I quickly found out in my life that if you did not do what others wanted or expected all the time, then their love for you would change.  I learned quickly to adapt and overcome in order to survive.

I do not know your story, but I do know God.......who truly does love us and only wants the best for our lives.  His love was so great that in John 15:13 it is exhibited to the world.  Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.  Jesus laid down His life for you and I.  We had not met personally.  We never spent time together.  There was no physical bond between us in terms of hanging out together.  As a matter of fact, I was not even born yet when this occurred but yet I have been covered by Jesus' love.  We all must understand the depth, breath and height of God's love.  It is really indescribable but God is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to ourselves.  I am privileged and honored that God would love me and that He continues to love me.  Know in your own life, no matter where you are and what is going on with you.  God loves you and wants you to know that He loves you unconditionally, in others words His agape love covers you everyday, all day long.