We are all expressions of God’s love!
That is the sentence I immediately awoke to this morning. It wasn’t an audible sentence, but one that filled my heart quickly even though it came out of nowhere. I felt like it was an invitation given to me to so that I could learn more about what it meant so that it may be an expression that resonates deeply within my heart. Eagerly I prayed on it and then picked up a pen so that my heart could be poured out onto the pages.
FIRST WAY GOD EXPRESSES HIS LOVE – HE CREATED US
We are all expressions of God’s love. What a beautiful reality.
His love for us is so deep that He could not contain it simply within His heart. He had to create us. Our birth is an expression of God’s love.
There are so many times in everyone’s life when we can feel somewhat down. Resting in the reality that we were created because we were so deeply loved can be of great comfort. Think of a time when you were so excited about something that you just couldn’t wait to share it with others. Now multiply that with an infinite number. That is why God created us. His love was so deep, He couldn’t keep us contained in His heart. He had to create us so He could be one with us and share us with all of the other children He created out of love!!
SEXOND WAY GOD EXPRESSES HIS LOVE – WHEN WE GIVE HIS LOVE
Now that we see how much He loves us and united to us, desires to share us, we can understand more fully why we are to love God and neighbor. When we are doing something loving for others, we should take a pause and allow ourselves to be aware of this act of sharing because it is God expressing His love for others through us. That awareness can help us to receive God’s love just as our neighbor is receiving it, but we have to notice.
Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don’t even think about what we are doing for someone else. Other times we are, but our focus is totally on them, which is beautiful.
If we take a moment, however, to let ourselves feel that love, let ourselves be mindful that we are also experiencing God‘s love as it flows through us, our union with God may grow deeper. The simple act of comforting someone, for example, can be a reminder to us that it is God who is giving the comfort through us and when we are down, even if we are alone, He is there for us with His comforting presence too. We now know this to be true. We can no longer doubt it because we have experienced Him offering comfort through us.
We cannot give love unless God first gives it to us because it is God who is love. When we are more aware of this, we will be more aware of Him and we will notice what He is doing with and through us. We will learn more about the God who loves deeply…the God who loves us dearly.
IN SUMMARY
God is love and we can console His heart when we embrace that truth. From the very moment we were conceived in His heart, He loved us. When we love someone and that love is not returned, our hearts break. Given that God’s heart is pure and He is love, can you imagine how much it must hurt Him when His love is not returned? So often people never even think of the great union we are a part of when we receive and give God’s love. It is a priceless gift that we so often take for granted.
Reflect on these two aspects of the expressions of God’s love and I will share part two next week.
POINTS TO PRAYERFULLY REFLECT ON AND TALK TO GOD ABOUT
Pray about the beautiful reality that God created you out of love and that united to you, He wants to share you with His other children.
Meditate on the great union of love you are a part of because God loved you from the moment you were thought of. (Psalm 139 13-16) (Jer 1:5)
“Then I heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send? Who will be Our messenger?” I answered, “I will go! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Personalize that scripture text. How does God send you out to be His expression of love?
Be mindful of the love you give daily. How are you an expression of God’s love to others? What have you learned about God’s love in how He expresses it through you? Can what you have learned about God’s love and how He expresses it through you, help you with a present concern you are praying to God about?