Good morning. I pray that you are looking forward to a wonderful day in the Lord!
There are some changes happening with these “thoughts for the day” articles. Because they do require a significant amount of time and mental resource for their creation each day, I have been directed by my elders, completely out of love and concern, to provide a different version from what I have been doing. In order to take some hours out of my workweek, I will try to control my thoughts for the day and make them more of a brief “thought provoker” type of piece. If you have feelings about this, by all means let me know. In the meantime, I do hope that these shorter pieces will continue to be of value. Additionally, I will be out of the office from Tuesday-Friday this coming week in order to travel to Phoenix and perform a renewal of vows ceremony for my brother Jess, and Nancy, his beloved wife of 30 years. So, there will be a stretch from Wednesday, 3/16 through Tuesday, 3/22 without the “thought for the day” being provided. Thanks for your understanding in all of this!
Now, for my first attempt at a more brief thought for the day: This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10
When the Bible was inspired by God and was written 2,000+ years ago, there were two main audiences to receive the Word. The first were the Jews who had grown up with the Law, the Prophets, and the Books of song and poetry, all of which they understood to be the inspired Word of God. The “New Testament” was a different kind of writing, being personal, instructive, and voicing the will of God in command through His chosen authors. The other audience for New Testament scripture was the gentile/Greek, those non-Jewish people who gladly received the Good News and God’s Word.
For both the ancient Jew and the gentile/Greek, they came from a faith background based on works. It was all about doing. The Jews obeyed the Law and tried to do enough to keep themselves within God’s favor. The gentile/Greeks grew up with the legends of the gods, the quests, and the heroic endeavors of men who were required to earn the favor of the gods.
All of that is blown apart with NT scriptures, such as 1 John 4:10. The love of God isn’t ours because we earn it, or because we have done something to deserve it. The love of God is poured out to us because of who God is. It is all about Him, all about His love for us, all about our appreciation for love freely given to all of us who fall short of His glory.
For today, think about what it means to have the love of God surround you. It isn’t about what you deserve, it is all about what He desires to provide as your blessing.
Vern