“Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the kapparah for our sins.”
1 John 4:10 CJB
Sometimes I look at my own love and feel that it is sadly lacking. I grow discouraged by what I deem its weakness: its lack of authenticity, fickleness, shallowness, its self-serving nature. But I read here that I err when I look at what I think of as my own love, for Love is not what or whom I have loved, but that God loved me and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for my sin–both His death and His life does this! This is Love. This is where I need to look; no further or less far. To truly know God is to love. And the crazy thing is, while I thought that I had to look “way out there, to God” I find that He has drawn near and is closer to me than even I could be; He has reconciled, chosen to identify with and united Himself with me. And as I come to know and trust Him more, I find that He stays with me, His Spirit fills me and my life becomes Christ.
“Also we have come to know and trust the love that God has for us. God is love; and those who remain in this love remain united with God, and God remains united with them. Here is how love has been brought to maturity with us: as the Messiah is, so are we in the world. This gives us confidence for the Day of Judgment.”
1 John 4:16-17 CJB
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Colossians 1:27 ESV
“To them God wanted to make known how great among the Gentiles is the glorious richness of this secret. And the secret is this: the Messiah is united with you people! In that rests your hope of glory!”
Colossians 1:27 CJB