The other day, my daughter, Addy shared with me one of our favorites on Instagram.  If you are not familiar with alongcameabby, I would encourage you to look her up.  Her mother actually handles the Instagram posts.  Addy and I have found lots of love and laughter happening in this little girl’s life.  Being an older mama, I understand, the along came Abby.  All of their other children are much older.  Being an older mama affords a different perspective sometimes.  At the very least, it makes you stop and smell the flowers, a little longer.

What Addy showed me that day, was a conversation with Abby and her mama.   Her mama asked Abby what love looked like.  Abby’s response was priceless, Abby said Jesus, that’s what love looks like, Jesus.  I loved that so much!  Jesus is our greatest example of love!!!!!  This child gets it!!!  She goes on to tell us that He loved us first, that we love him because He first loved us.  We love because he first loved us.        1 John 4:9   Mama then asked what would it look, like if we loved like Jesus?  Please use this link to go hear it for yourself, https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnVMJ4sh7-M/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D&fbclid=IwAR2Se0DKLtYTrYsxIfrAPL74-PWouV-q6C04_J5PqHCYWo1S7V09zueoj84

Of course, it is the Love month so this is my obligatory Love Wednesday Word.  Wait, did I say obligatory?  No, just the opposite!  It is an honor and privilege to share with you, what may be old news, maybe something you have heard before.  Or you may be a little like me and never grow weary or tired of hearing about the great love of Jesus, Father God and Holy Spirit for us.

In a day, where we are bombarded on all sides, I just want to remind you of the great love of Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, no matter where you are living, where you have come from, or what you are going through.  His great love for us, once understood, radically changes our life and perspective!!!!

It all starts with His great love for us, not our love for Him!  It’s not about me and you, it’s all about Him!!!!  His great love for us is all about His choice to love us so much that he sent His only begotten son to die a death that we could not to give us a life that we could not attain on our own merit.  John 3:16 Let that sink in.  He is the writer of our story.  His great love writes our story with a pen dipped in the blood of Jesus.

His great love is redemptive!  “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5

His great love is reconciliatory!

 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.   2 Corinthians 5:18-21

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— Colossians 1:20-22

His great love is always for us! Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. (Psalm 36:5-7)

His great love is personal!  He knows each of us by name! He wants a personal relationship with each of us. See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. (1 John 3:1)

His love for us is so great that He loves us in all of our rebellion but calls us to a higher walk in Him, to change and grow in His ways.  Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

His love is so great that He does not leave us on our own but gives us Holy Spirit to fill us with His love! And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. (Romans 5:5)

His love is so great that He will not let us suffer alone I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul. (Psalm 31:7)

His great love is full of compassion. The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:20-23)

You get the picture!  God’s word is exhaustive and full of the truth of His love for you and me!!  Shout with me from the mountaintop, “O, How I Love, Jesus!!!!  I am so thankful He loves me!!!!!!!

Will you join me in being more like Jesus with every opportunity that comes our way

His great love equips each of us! Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him. … “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (John 13:3-5, 34)  God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.” (1 John 4:9-12)

Now, will you help me show love by thanking all those who chose to give of their time and talents to make a senior receiving Meals On Wheels feel extra special on Valentine’s Day!!  We received over 5000 cards from our WBFJ family.  All so beautiful!  Every time I think I have seen everything, there are more beautiful Valentines that I have never seen made before.  I have seen a lot in our over twenty years of blessing the senior adult population in our community!!!!  Thank you from all the recipients in Forsyth County, Davidson, County, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin County!!!!!!   You have been a blessing to them and all of us here at WBFJ!!!!

Let’s spur each other on to love as Jesus loves.  Thanks, alongcameabby for the sweet message.

I am thankful for each of you that show the love of God to us in word, prayer, and sacrificial giving!!!!!  May our God bless you all abundantly as He uses each of you to bless the ministry of WBFJ.

b​onnie