Wednesday—Loved

Call to Worship

Hear God call you to worship through his word:

Psalm 136:1-3

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Confession

Respond by confessing your sins to God.

O Almighty and merciful Father, you pour your benefits upon us—forgive the unthankfulness with which we have requited your goodness. We have remained before you with dead and senseless hearts, unkindled with love of your gentle and enduring goodness. Turn us, O merciful Father, and so shall we be turned. Make us with our whole heart to hunger and thirst after you, and with all our longing to desire you. Amen. —Anselm

Assurance

Receive these words of comfort from God:

Romans 8:31–34

Receive these words of comfort from God:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Devotion

Daily Reading: Romans 5:6-11 and Romans 8:38-39

Consider all the words we use in just one day. Thousands of them. We know that words are powerful and yet we often use them without stopping to consider their impact or even if we have chosen the right word(s) for the occasion. Some words get overused. So much so, that they lose their weightiness and power. In my experience, there is one word that is so overused in our culture it has become diluted and robbed of its depth and power. That word is LOVE.  People (myself included) are obsessed with using the word love to describe how much they like or enjoy everything from food, to clothing, to entertainment, to various possessions, and any other person, place, or thing.  

Yet love is so much more than that—love is crucial to our existence. Though we may not want to admit it, we all desire to be loved deeply. As Christians, there is perhaps no greater and wonderful truth than to know we are loved by God the Father and God the Son. The love we receive from the Lord is unlike any other love we will experience or express during our earthly lives. Scripture repeatedly speaks of God’s love as unearned, sacrificial, and sincere.

Human experience says, I will love you once you earn my affection. We can easily project this “earned” love onto our view of who God is and what He is like.  As a result, I may falsely believe God will only love me when I clean myself up, live rightly, and earn his favor through good behavior. However, the Bible teaches and reassures us God does not operate in this way.

As God speaks of his covenant relationship with the people of Israel, he describes a love that was not based on merit: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7). This pattern of the unmerited love of God continues throughout the pages of Scripture.

When we focus on the events of Holy Week, the undeserved love of God continues. The glorious news about Jesus’ death is that he willingly offered his life on the cross even though we did not deserve it. Romans 5:6 declares, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” What a profound truth. In human relationships, we work so hard to earn the favor of those around us, but it is not so with our Savior. Jesus operated not on the basis of our strength, but rather our weakness. He died not because we do what is right, but because we cannot do what is right in our own strength. Jesus died for sinners! His actions on the cross are drenched in a sacrificial love that gives what is not deserved and has not been earned.

True love always leads to sacrifice. The love God has for his children is written in the blood of his son Jesus. Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Consider this: God not only tells you he loves you, he shows you his love by offering the greatest sacrifice imaginable. Friend, if you are in Christ, you are loved by God. What an important truth to remember in every moment of life!

When I played basketball in middle school, I made it my goal to win every part of the game, including the box scores and the mental components. I was so consumed with winning, I would play dirty from time to time in order to secure my victory or crush my competitor’s spirits.

I can remember one game in particular—a pivotal game at home. The game was tight and I was attempting to take a charge against my opponent. As he slipped by my defensive stance, my right foot intentionally followed his move. While I “took the charge,” I also tripped the offensive player, whose body immediately fell hard to the gym floor.

The referees blew their whistles and sorted out the call (which was ruled a charge). However, the offensive player did not get up. He was wincing in pain as he held his elbow. When he finally stood, I asked him if he was faking an injury because he was scared of me? He made no reply. To this day, I regret those thoughtless words.

Our teams would once again collide in the first round of the Suburban League basketball tournament. This time, the showdown took place on their court instead of our own. During warmups, I was informed the player I had tripped in the previous game actually shattered his elbow. Surgery was required. My heart sank and I was suddenly sick to my stomach.

I will never forget that game. It felt as though every time I touched the ball, the home crowd joined together, booing and scoffing at me. By the fourth quarter, I was emotionally drained. With a little more than three minutes left in a very close game, I committed a fifth personal foul and headed to the bench.

I will never forget the noise the crowd made as I walked off the court. Never before had I experienced rejection and shame in this way. Yet out of what felt like hundreds of voices jeering at me, I can remember one familiar voice saying, “Great work kid.” I couldn’t miss my earthly father’s voice, his encouraging words and the reminder that I belonged to him and he loved me.

Many important lessons were learned that day.  Yet as I look back at that experience, I am reminded of the importance of hearing the loving voice of my Heavenly Father above and beyond the voices of the crowd. I was loved well from an earthly father, but I am loved perfectly, sacrificially, and sincerely from my Heavenly Father.

Today, if you believe in Jesus, you too are always loved. Consider these words from the Apostle Paul: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

As you consider what Jesus did on the cross, will you be reminded you are loved not just in word but in actions? How has his love made you more secure? At what moments have you experienced the love of God profoundly? In what ways has his love overflowed in your ability to love others?

Benediction

Go into the world with this blessing from God:

2 Corinthians 13:13

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit

be with all of you.