Love’s Genesis

1 John 4:19 (GNT): Love’s Genesis

We love because God first loved us.

Mornings are my quiet time. I rise very early to pray, read, and work out. When that quiet time is interrupted by spouse, child, or dog, I can get irritable. This is my time, I often think, and you are ruining it!

One morning, I heard the small pitter-patter of socks coming across the linoleum, short steps with increasing volume as they came closer. It was my two-year-old son, Luke. My instinct was to defend “my time,” for it is sacred to my mental and spiritual health. But the intense love radiated through Luke’s smile and outstretched arms reminded me of why I am here. As I gathered him into my arms, we went to our favorite glider chair in his room, hugged, and rocked for 30 minutes. He fell fast asleep. It was the best thirty minutes of prayer I could ever spend. Holding my child close, feeling his warmth, and hearing the steady cadence of his breath against me filled me with the deepest, undefinable sense of love. And that love is only possible because God loves us first.

As we go through our week, let us look for moments to savor the love all around us and be reminded that it does not come from us, but it comes from our God who is, himself, love.

Loving Father, thank you for your great love. Empower us through your Spirit to be ambassadors of your love in our world. In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Have a blessed week.

Stan