God's Love Comes First

We love because he first loved us.-1 John 4:19

Last night we went to church again, but my daughter is overwhelmed by the vastness of the sanctuary.  It is huge and has lots of screens, so she is freaked out a little by it. I remember when I first went in the sanctuary, I was like "Wow!  This is huge!" So, we didn't get to stay inside the sanctuary, but sat on the benches outside and listened to the service, and waited on brother to get out of children's church.

As we were walking around, we walked past the babies' rooms and I could hear them teaching the babies, "God loves you."  This morning I thought how appropriate that was in regards to teaching New Believers about God. And it is how Jesus demonstrated who God was.

We cannot tell people to love God, which happens all the time, without telling Him how much He loves them first.  They won't know who He is, or how to even love Him, or anybody else.

The Bible says in Hebrews 1:3 "The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God..."  Jesus came to demonstrate God to us. He loved people first, and then they came to love Him. 1 John 4:19 says "We love Him because He first loved us."

It is impossible to tell a New Believer,  or any human that they must love God, without helping them to understand that He, through Jesus, loved them first.  Just like a little baby, they must come to understand "how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is."-Ephesians 3:18 (NLT)

Five Minute Friday: Middle

Today I am participating in Five Minute Friday, where a group of writers get together and freewrite, with no editing, about a one word prompt for 5 minutes.  Today's word is  "middle."

Here I am stuck in the middle with you…


That’s part of some song lyrics. I don’t remember which one. But it just popped into my head with this week’s prompt, “middle.”

So, here I am stuck in the middle of my story, with Jesus. I bet you are there too.

That’s a good place to be, in the middle. It means you are not at the beginning, and not at the end.

Sometimes it feels uncomfortable being in the middle. Like, if you are in the middle of a row at church, or a concert, or a ball game of some type.

Or if you are in the middle seat of an airplane or a car.

But to be in the middle of your story with Jesus is a good place to be. It might seem like it is a little uncomfortable, like in those other places above. But if you are in the middle, you are not at the beginning. That’s good in a way because it means you know some things. You have experienced some things.

And it is good that you are not at the end. It means you are not finished yet.

So, what does it mean to be in the middle? It means you are still learning. But it also means you should be teaching somebody else.

Here in the middle, Jesus is still teaching you. He is still speaking to you, whispering to your heart, and you are still learning. He is still a good teacher. He is the same with you as He was in the Gospels. He speaks to us now by His Spirit, by the Holy Spirit.

What you hear Him whisper, you need to speak to another human. As a disciple, you are also a teacher. Don’t wait until you think you have “arrived.”

In fact, teaching somebody else, can push you forward.

Being in the middle with Jesus is a good place to be.

*I looked up the song lyrics. Stuck in the Middle is a song written by Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan and orginally performed by their band Stealers Wheel.