We love each other because he loved us first.
1 John 4:19 (NLT)
The love of Jesus has changed my life. It takes a lifetime to understand what His grace—His undeserved favor means for me. That is my journey—to continually grow in the revelation of His grace so that I am constantly renewed by the Holy Spirit in my mind—in the way I think and regard others. I now yearn to love beyond what I ever considered possible. Grace is no longer just a word to write in a devotion. Grace is alive and breathing. It is life. I love others because He first loved me.
The grace of Jesus is His love given without judgment on the cross—His unconditional and sacrificial love which sets me free from sin. Grace speaks the positive healing power of the Holy Spirit into each heart without regard to who that person is or what he or she has done. His grace speaks the love of Jesus into hearts filled with negativism and doubt because of life’s pain. It flows freely and without reservation. Paul wrote, “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5 NIV). When the Holy Spirit pours His unconditional love into my heart, then living His grace is not a work I have to do, but an overflow of the miraculous change He has wrought in my life.
Paul writes of love as the most important Christian virtue. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV). When we love unconditionally with the love of Jesus—no matter who someone might be or in spite of what they have done—we offer His grace and forgiveness, so that someone else might also come to experience the healing love of Jesus. Grace offers love without regard to what a person feels about me, says about me, thinks about me, or does to me.
When the love that is born of grace unmasks my life, I am free to love. With no barriers or walls, this love answers any question or accusation with honesty, kindness, and forgiveness. The love of Jesus always sees the best in others. It rejoices in the truth and hurts when another is wounded. His grace in me has the power to help another person experience the resurrection love that heals all facets of life. Jesus laid down His life for me. His passion for me inspires me to lay down my life for others. His grace yields the highest love and the most profound forgiveness. His grace changes everything in me.
© Lynn Lacher 2019
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