Day 38: Overwhelming Love

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8, NIV)

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13, NIV)

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

Think about how often you use the word "love." Perhaps a little, perhaps a lot. Think about if you've used it today or yesterday. Maybe you've said "I love you" to a significant other or family member. Maybe you were merely remarking at the local McDonald's "Man, I love these fries." Maybe it was even in sarcasm, as in "Don't you just love it when your alarm clock fails to go off in the morning."

But God's love is something else. Throw all the different way we use love out the window; these definitions are not big enough.

God knows what love is all about love because he made it. He is love according to John. We didn't do jack to earn it, but God gives of his endless, overwhelming love anyways.

I think sometimes we need a reminder that God's love is completely out of this world. It's so easy to look around at all the examples of love we have here on earth; all the movies and the Casanovas. But God's love goes totally beyond all that. While we were still evil he went and died for us. We deserved death but loved us so much that he became human to rescue us and shows us what real, pure love looks like.

God's love is earth-shattering, mind-numbing, totally crazy, unthinkable, unimaginable, enormous, overwhelming - awesome.