Have you ever considered that God’s love is both ordinary AND extraordinary? It is “ordinary” in the sense that anyone can have it; and yet, it is “extraordinary” in the sense that it is unparalleled in our human experience of love.
Read the Bible’s description of love and ask yourself whether you have ever experienced this kind of love in a human relationship:
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
(I Corinthians 13:4-7)
If your answer is “not even remotely,” then ask yourself whether you would LIKE to be experiencing it. Well, of course—we would ALL like for someone to love us this way—right? The fact is—someone already does, and He IS love. (1 John 4:8) When we receive the gift of salvation, Jesus makes us spiritually alive and we may enter into the experience of His extraordinary love. Yet—to be born again and still fail to experience the extraordinary love of God is—a tragedy of epic proportions.
I lived with that tragedy for many years!
You see, even after we are born again, building our experience with God takes time and work. It’s not like we wake up one day and find we have attained a deep and meaningful relationship with God that is so powerful it sweeps us off our feet. Rather, it takes DAILY work because we’re also fighting against the enemies of our soul which seek to steal our knowledge of God’s goodness. Our great ENEMY knows God is GOOD and he is constantly seeking us to deprive us of the experience of God’s presence.
We must be vigilant to fight back. We must pursue Him with great discipline. It’s much like getting in shape where—everyday you fight against the enemies of fatigue, unhealthy eating, laziness, and discipline yourself to make good habits like going to the gym, eating clean, or submitting yourself to the rules of a good trainer. But, ah, my friend, experiencing the extraordinary love of God is far, far, better than having a great physique!
The experience of God’s love is far more rewarding than anything else we pursue.
PLEASE, don’t miss this!!! Consider the time you are given today and consider how much you are investing into your relationship with God. How does the time you’ve dedicated to spend with God today stack up against everything else on your schedule? The Bible teaches us the law of sowing and reaping:
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
(II Corinthians 9:6)
There is truly no greater investment of your time today than—investing in your relationship with God!
When God’s extraordinary love fills us, our experience of love is FAR from ordinary!
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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4 Responses
Ty for the reading, it’s a reminder that I do need to spend more time with God n his word for I need direction, so that I can finally walk faithfully in my walk, also to stop the behaviors! I love God so much n I know for sure that he has been walking with me since birth, n has given me the strength even I thought I had no more
To God be the glory!
How do you face the challenge of losing your family when they discard you totally?
Shirley, I’m so sorry you are going through this! When I went through something very similar it was the catalyst for the development of my deeper relationship with God. I can honesty say that if I had not felt totally rejected by the people I loved, I may have never fallen in love with God like I love Him today. It’s doubtful that you would be reading this website today if I had not gone through the valley that lead me to HIM.
My dear, seek Him with all your heart, soul, and mind…He is looking to love you like you’ve never been loved before.
Blessings,
Kimberly