A Devotional by Pastor Charles Palacio
Valentine’s Day passed a few days ago, and people have celebrated “love”. There are many conceptions of love, but the true and pure form of love can only be found in God alone.
We see this love in 1 John 4:9, “In this, the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Now, for us children of God, we are also called to show this kind of love to one another. This love is also unconditional which means it is not picky whom to love, which also means that we should love our enemies.
Yes, to love our enemies, to love those who hurt us, to love those who look down on us, is no simple task. How can we love those who don’t even love us? Why must we love our enemies? Can we just love those who we choose to love and not everyone? Of course, the answer is no because that is not how God’s love for us works. God loves us even if we are sinners. For God loves us though we were His enemies.
For God so loves us that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on the cross so we might be forgiven of all our sins, be saved from death, and receive eternal life. God’s love for you is so great that He saved a sinner like me and you. If this is so, as it said in 1 John 4:11 “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” We might not celebrate Valentine’s Day every day, but we can celebrate God’s love for us each day by loving one another.