From Hopscotch to Holiness

46 From Hopscotch To Holinesschange. Day by day, I’m growing in God’s love. That’s good news.Second, God loves perfectly. Consider 1 John 4:7. “Dear friends, let uslove one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has beenborn of God and knows God.” True love comes from God. Only whenwe are born of God and know God can we love like Jesus. God’s perfectlove does not bring condemnation. That’s a vital truth. Condemnationmeans censure, judgment, blame, criticism, or attack. Condemnation isthe specialty of the enemy. The Lord is not shaking his finger at us inaccusation. Rather, God’s love brings conviction and his invitation to usto grow up into Christ. Conviction is God’s way of showing us we need tochange. But God’s conviction always comes with hope. Condemnationnever does. Mature love like Christ has for us will make all the differencein the way we relate to others. Take a moment and ask God to evaluateyour relationships with others according to 1 John 4:7. I know I fall short.My prayer is: Help me, Lord!God also loves sacrificially. Consider Romans 5:8. “But God demonstrateshis own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died forus.” The death of Christ on the cross is the supreme demonstration ofhis sacrificial love for us. Amazingly, he was willing to die for us while wewere lost in sin. Jesus didn’t wait for us to clean up our act to love us.Perhaps that’s the greatest lesson of true love for each of us. What wouldsacrificial love look like in your daily life? Are you willing to sacrifice time,financial resources, or personal plans to show love to others? How wouldChrist’s sacrificial love change the way you dialogue with others? I believethe words from our mouth are a direct result of the love or lack of love inour hearts. For me, it’s a true picture of my maturity in Christ.Pause for a moment and pray with me. Loving Father, empower me tofollow your example of extravagant, sacrificial love. Allow all of my plansand decisions today to be saturated in the love of Christ. Allow me to livein love and to speak out of love. Amen