Prayer to know God’s love
By: Kyle Norman
Bible Reading: “This means that we know love. He should build his life for us, and we should abandon our lives for each other.” -1 John 3:16
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The other day I was sitting at my local coffee shop, drinking coffee and listening to background music. One by one, popular songs were performed for decades, all declared the glory of love. Most of the songs were both nasty and sentimental as they sang about the wonders of artists feeling loved and worshipped.
Love is one of the main things we search for in life. It’s the instinctive drive we all have. Who doesn’t want to be loved? Is there anyone who doesn’t want the people around them to see them with joy? Love makes us feel like we are realising. It makes us feel like we belong.
The search for love can take many forms. Some are in the warmth of their friends, some are in the family and the wider community gatherings. Others look for love through artificial means, such as bottles, pills, and wild adventures. They follow the experiences of ecchi, rush of endorphins, and growing heartbeat. Of course, when they fade, it’s time to pursue another path.
How do you find love in your life? Where do you go when you need to be reminded that you belong to this world and that you are important? If you don’t feel loved, where do you see?
John reminds us that the ultimate expression of love can be found in Jesus Christ, which is seen on the cross. Jesus spreads his arms on the cross as God’s flesh and the deepest expression of love for us. On the cross, love expands to us. Who we are, when we live, what we face. The love we receive from family, friends and lovers is as good and healing as possible, but a pale imitation compared to the love that exists in God’s heart. What God has made for us is that in light of this incredible sacrifice, our hearts can experience the perfect recognition of what our hearts desire. John says, “By this we know love” – wrapping true love, love, and love that crushes the earth – “Jesus built his life for us” (1 (John 3:16).
If we want to know love in our lives, we need to accept Jesus and accept the cross.
But here’s something tricky. We don’t always get loved, right? We don’t always have our days filled with heavenly joy. In fact, you may wonder whether we feel unloved because of past mistakes and sins, or whether God’s love has been removed from us. Have you ever had trouble feeling God’s love for you?
With all your heart. The love of God received in Jesus is true. It’s not emotion. Jesus went to the cross as an event in history. In other words, that truth exists regardless of how we feel. So, despite our struggles, we believe that Jesus’ love will remain on us and on us, despite how we feel in the moment. It’s there. And with that bold recognition and determination to live in that truth, John urges us to share that love. It is not something we simply receive for the love of God that was presented to us in the death of Christ. In fact, if we only consider receiving God’s love, embracing it, owning it, and keeping it safe within ourselves, we miss it.
Instead, Jesus’ love, born in our hearts and surrounding us through the power of the spirit, works through us. We only fully realize this love when we extend it to others. And John associates the love we receive from Jesus with the love that we give to others. Just as Jesus abandoned his life for us, we should place ourselves for good, healing, and encouragement of others. Then we not only experience the perfect expression of Christ’s love, but His love pulsates through us and blesses those around us.
Let’s pray:
My beloved Jesus,
I thank you for the love you have shown me through your sacrifice on the cross. I appreciate the love you are growing on top of me, continuously and certainly growing. Lord, there is a time in my life when the pressure and weight of this world heals my acceptance of this love. There are times when I find it difficult to express your love to the people around me. Jesus, I pray that you will make your love more realistic in my life. I pray that your love is a fact of my life and that your love is something I can expect even if I don’t feel it. This is because, Lord, you are the incarnation of love, and you will always be with me.
I pray all these things in the name of Jesus, my beloved Savior. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Tinnakorn Jorruang
Pastor Kyle Norman is the president of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kamloops, Canada. He holds a PhD in Spiritual Formation and is a popular author, speaker and retreat leader. His writings can be found at Christianity.com, Crosswalk.com, Ibelieve.com, Renovare Canada and more. He also maintains his own blog revkylenorman.ca. He has 20 years of idyllic experience and his ministry focuses on helping people overcome times of spiritual disappointment.
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