360 Love
If you know me, even a little, you may recall that I love sunrises. I view them as an amazing visual reminder of God’s extraordinary gift of a new day.
This was my view of the eastern sky on the morning of February 24, 2021. It isn’t unusual to see such a beautiful sunrise in the east. But, below is the same day and time looking west.
Not quite as spectacular, but still lovely. To complete the amazing 360 degree view that morning, both the southern and northern skies also presented a panorama of gorgeous color.
Surrounded by God’s gift, I turned in circles, gazing in awe at His color palette. As I drank in the blessing before me, I was reminded…
God loves us with a 360 kind of love.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 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 4:9-10
We have just celebrated Easter, the culmination of Passion Week. This past Friday we remembered the pain and agony Jesus suffered because of His, and His Father’s, infinite love for us. Jesus is the “atoning sacrifice” for us, for you, for me, for the world. On Easter Sunday, we rejoiced in the knowledge that the tomb could not hold our Lord…
He Is Risen!
What is our response to God’s gift of love?
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 1 John 4:15
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, profess Him as our Lord, He lives in us. How amazing is that? And because God is love, He grants us the gift of love–the ability (and command) to love one another.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
Love one another!
To further emphasize God’s requirement to love others, we are reminded that if we do not love others, we do not know God. Lack of love for others, separates us from God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8
This command for us to love one another is such an essential part of our faith and action, Jesus also reminds us:
A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35.
It is not an accident that our Lord emphasizes the necessity of loving our neighbor. He knows humans are possessed of a multifaceted personality. We are not only gifted with the ability to love, honor, and respect one another, while also demonstrating compassion and concern, we are also burdened with traits such as envy, malice, and selfishness. The only way we can overcome the negative to enable us to love others is through the saving grace of Jesus.
Yes, we can demonstrate His love because He lives in us. His love is the foundational truth to all we believe. And He gave us the ability to love as He loves. Thank you for sharing the beautiful sunrise in every direction.
We are blessed in so many ways by our Lord, but I believe the gift of love is at the top of the list. Not only does He love us with a love beyond our understanding (the sacrifice of His Son for us), but He granted us the ability to give and receive love. Thus we are blessed with the joy of marriage, children, family, and friends with whom we share love. God is so Good!
Yes, we are multifaceted people. Thanks for the reminder that love flows in all directions and how blessed we are to not only have God’s love but also that He makes it possible for us to love others. “The only way we can overcome the negative to enable us to love others is through the saving grace of Jesus.”
Whenever we feel unworthy or unloved, we only need to look to Jesus to know how special we are to Him. I remember being overwhelmed when my children were born about how much I loved them. Now I am blessed to experience that again with grandchildren. I also continue to be amazed that God gives us the patience, compassion, and perseverance to love those who are sometimes unloving to us. Grace… We are so blessed by God’s Gift of Love.
So much to love about this blog Ms. Katherine. Isn’t it wonderful to just lose ourselves in the beauty of God’s world? As I’m sure you’ve noticed too, no two sunrises or sunsets are ever the same. Only a loving God could do that. I can’t wait to see what eternity brings. While there’ll be no sunrises or sunsets, I’m quite certain God’s presence will be greater than anything we can experience in this world.
Katherine, I love this truth: “Remember, Jesus lives in us. We CAN demonstrate 360 love!”That means it matters not how we feel or how others act; the love of Jesus enables us to respond in loving ways. Thank you for your sunset views.
You said it so well, Jeannie. What an awesome God we have–He loves us when we are unlovable and enables us to love others when they are struggling. He lifts us out of that miry pit and sets our feet on solid ground. What a mighty God we serve! Thank you for your encouragement.
Scripture reminds us that our imagination cannot give us a picture of the glory of Heaven. Of course, since we know it is our Lord’s home, heaven must truly be an amazing place. And to know our loved ones are there, waiting for us, what could be better? We may see vistas more awesome than the sunrises we love so much. Wow!
Katherine, we love because He first loved us. We can love because He lives in us. Wonderful reminder of how to live.
Love is a precious gift from God. We are so blessed!
Katherine, lovely reminder that we love because He first loved us and live in us! Beautiful pictures.
Our Father paints such amazing pictures for our pleasure. Every sunrise and sunset is unique, just as we are all different, yet precious in His sight. Wishing you continued blessings in your ministry, Debbie.
I am grateful for the encouragement from my friend, J.D. Wininger to check out your blog, and I’m glad that I did. Thanks for reminding us of the scope of God’s incredible love. In doing weddings, I have often remarked about how the wedding ring’s circular shape is illustrative of eternity in that it continues without a starting or stopping point. The other thing that strike me about it is that the 360 degrees of a circle, like the love of God, the plan of God, the purpose of God, and the will of God, encompass everything–no parts or extraneous sections left out. Thanks for the insightful and inspirational piece, Katherine, and may God continue to bless you and multiply the fruit of your ministry.
J.D. is a dear friend and so supportive of all of us struggling to be a witness for Jesus Christ through out writing. I’m so grateful that you stopped by my blog, Ron, and for you insightful comments. Your example of the wedding ring is so appropriate to illustrate the eternal love that God has for us. Thank you for focusing in on God’s love, His plan, purpose, and will. You are right–there is nothing left out of of His plan. Wishing you continued blessings in your ministry, Ron.