Day 7: With actions and in truth
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8).
Heavenly Father, we take great comfort from Your words to Your people, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).
We delight in Your great love to us, relishing the words in Scripture that show Your tender, nurturing, protective kindness and care. Our hearts find peace in the childlike, restful, abandon David describes,
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content (Psalm 131:1-2).
And we are moved by the loving angst and compassion for the people of God in the words of Jesus, How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings... (Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34).
O Father, You have given us a model for love that is unparalleled! You have shown us a powerful, passionate, nourishing, sacrificial love that is not with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18) And You ask us to so love one another (John 13:34).
The apostle Paul did so, following Your example as he ministered to the believers in Thessalonica. He and the leaders with him were willing to invest in the lives of those they served—in deep relationships, and in lasting bonds: We were so devoted to you that we were glad to share with you not only God’s Good News but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2:8 – CJB).
Teach us, O Lord to love deeply from the heart (1 Peter 1:22); not in the fashion of our superficial, formula-driven world. Many around us are broken, weary, sad, hopeless, despairing. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to love. Give us a willingness to invest in lives with the powerful, passionate, nourishing sacrificial love of Christ—not with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Comments