Devotion:
Read John 3:16.
We have seen “John 3:16” plastered all over, sometimes in ways that seem to cheapen it. Perhaps most notably was the man in the rainbow-colored wig holding up a sign with this reference on it and somehow always catching the TV cameras at football, world series, and pro basketball games. He was a Christian, a bit eccentric, and this was his way of witnessing. Most of us don’t need to look up this familiar verse because we know it by heart. But we should look it up and read it. Please read it again, slowly.
This week, we are focusing on the balance between receiving and giving. This beautiful verse sums up the Good News that God loved us, so God gave. It is in this verse that we see the beautiful hope and promise of eternal life through that gift of God’s one and only Son. God’s love is so great and so complete as to make it almost unthinkable. God sent God’s Son into this rebellious world that we might live. Thinking about that makes me very thankful. It also reminds me that real love makes us “hold onto our possessions loosely,” to paraphrase Corrie ten Boom. If we really love, then it naturally follows that we give, as God has shown us.
Personal Worship Option:
Think today about this awesome gift of a Son, sent into the world to live and die that we might live eternally. Reflect on how you might be more loving, especially beyond family and your circle of close friends. Pray for your love for others to grow and issue in your turning loose and giving.
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