The One Year Life Verse Devotional - Tyndale House Publishers

january
4 perfect, permanent love
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in
all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that
4
is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39
iwas the youngest of three children and a perennial class clown,
so I don’t think anyone really expected much from me. In fi rst grade
I was assigned to the reading group that ate paste. In my mom’s
ninetieth year, she fi nally confessed that when I was in high school,
she had prayed for a C on my report card as a sign that my life
wouldn’t be a total loss. During my senior year, a gray-haired math
teacher fi nally called my bluff: “Kevin, when are you going to stop
playing that game of yours—the game in which you’re the best at
being the worst?” Her insightful words didn’t completely snap me
out of it, but at least they got me thinking.
It wasn’t until ten years into my walk with God that I stopped
playing that game. I knew my mom loved me. (That’s her job.) I
knew my wife loved me. (Thank you, God!) I even came to realize
that the old math teacher had loved me. Still, I was so afraid of getting
things wrong that I couldn’t do anything right. You might say
I spent my youth rebelling against my legalistic tendencies. That’s
when I heard a radio talk-show host speak about grace. Whoa! God
loves me—no matter what?
Since then, I’ve come to enjoy fl aunting my imperfections for an
entirely different reason: They point to the only One who actually
is perfect—Jesus.
Dr. Kevin Leman is a psychologist and speaker and the author of more than
twenty-fi ve books, including The Birth Order Book, Sheet Music, and First-Time
Mom.