by Kala Loptien

Work of Heart

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking the Sound Cloud link.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 English Standard Version

In our family, the “I love you” exchanges have gone rogue. I love it. For years, we’ve used “love you more,” usually followed by “impossible” or “nice try.” Then we switched to “love you the most” or “love you to heaven.” Now, my daughter is hooked on trying to be the fastest to say, “love you to eternity!”

We are called — scratch that — commanded to love and care for one another. And, not just those tied to our biology; but those who are part of our biography; those whom the Lord loves –the least of these, the forgotten, the lonely, the lost…

It’s funny. Society likes to define, redefine and propagate whatever definition of love feels good or trendy. But here’s the truth: the definition of love will never change because God is the originator. God is love. Not only did He give us pages of words to help define what love should (and should not) look like; He modeled it for us. Jesus spent his ministry years interfacing with lost sinners and slow-learning disciples. (Sound familiar?) And then, Love bore the weight of the world on the cross, defeating death. In exchange, we were made righteous, given new life.

Yes. We love our friends, family and neighbors. But even our most authentic form of love is seriously flawed. It doesn’t even come close to the love God has for ALL His children. There’s even a Greek word reserved for His highest form of love. Agape: something we can’t even comprehend because it’s unconditional and sacrificial. It’s because of this radical life-saving, life-changing love that we are able to care for others. His kind of love transforms and transcends.

Lord, you love us more than we will ever know. Nothing compares. Help us use this transformative work of heart to carry out the works you’ve preplanned– remembering to love all those you’ve placed purposefully in our path. Amen. 

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado