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Devotional for May 11, 2020

An Eternal Message

 "For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another." (1 John 3:11 NIV) 

 If this pandemic has hopefully taught us anything, it is how much we really need to be in contact with each other. Family members and friends have not been able to see each other in person on a regular basis. While virtual meetings have certainly increased in usage over the last few months, it has still not been the same as an actual in-person get-together. This whole situation therefore hopefully has taught us the value of being able to be with those we love, and being able to show love to those we love.

 This pandemic hopefully also has taught us the value of being able to show love to others, even to our neighbors. Certainly generosity has increased, as more people have been able to do things for others, especially those who are vulnerable to the virus and unable to leave their homes. And, hopefully, as we have realized how much we need our family members and friends, we have also hopefully realized how much we really need each other. We depend on each other. We depend on each other in ways we maybe have not realized, and we have hopefully realized how interconnected we really are. How we treat one person, or a couple of people, affects everyone. And we hopefully have realized the importance of treating everyone with the same love, compassion, respect, understanding, acceptance, and tolerance which we would certainly appreciate being treated with.

 For this is how God treated us, and has always treated us: He loves us. He created us because He overflows with love, and desired to have someone to show His love to. Out of His desire to show His love for us, He sent His Son to live as one of us. This means that God understands us, because He lived as a human being just like us, and shows us compassion, because He experienced life as we live it. He then died on a cross and rose again, to save us from sin and the devil, and to show that we are accepted by God. We are promised eternal life, and this promise is extended to everyone who believes - all other factors are made obsolete by God.

 This is also the true eternal message: being a believer in Jesus has never been about following rules, keeping regulations, and insisting others do the same. It has always been about one simple principle: love. We are loved by God, therefore we love each other, our neighbors in our community, and others in the world. We love and show compassion in response to the love and compassion that has been shown to us. Love is a principle, rather than a rule, because it is the foundation of who God really is, and therefore, since we are being changed and transformed by God daily to become more like Him and reflect who He is really is, we love. Love is both a noun and a verb, and so actively loving ought to be the principle behind all of our thoughts, words, and actions: loving our neighbors as ourselves by showing compassion, respect, understanding, and acceptance. This has been God's principle and motivation from the very beginning, and it ought to be ours as well.

 Dear God, help me to love others as you love me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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