April 2, 2007
How God Shows His Love
READ: John 13:5-17
I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. —John 13:15
Martha, a 26-year-old woman with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), needed help. When a group of ladies from Evanston, Illinois, heard about her, they jumped into action. They began to give round-the-clock nursing care. They bathed her, fed her, prayed for her, and witnessed to her. Martha, who had not received Christ as her Savior and couldn’t understand how a loving God could let her get ALS, saw His love in these women and eventually became a Christian. She is with the Lord today because 16 women, following Jesus’ example, personified God’s love.
The love of God was visibly demonstrated in Jesus when He was here on Earth. In stooping to wash the feet of His disciples, He mirrored the submissive step He took when He left heaven and became a man. He healed the sick and endured bitter hatred as His reward. He died like a criminal on a Roman cross. His endurance and these acts of kindness reflect God’s love, for Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
Jesus is no longer with us in His physical body—He now sits at God’s right hand in heaven. So, if God’s love is to be embodied today, it must be done through Christians. Is it being done through you?
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be. —Gabriel
