“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” (Romans 5:5 NLT)
Not being a fan of Country-Western style music, I rarely listen to it; however, when I’m in a restaurant or shop where it’s playing, I’ll sometimes listen to the lyrics. A common theme seems to be either not being able to find love, or the loss of love once held.
What a contrast to the songs of love I find in a Hymnal or the music I hear at church. For example, the words of Frederick M. Lehman (1917) in his hymn The Love of God. Verse one says: “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell. The wand’ring child is reconciled by God’s beloved Son. The aching soul again made whole, and priceless pardon won.” Then the Refrain: “O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure—the saints’ and angels’ song.”
Are you experiencing God’s love in your life today?
When I was a child, I remember how my mom or dad would pull the collar of my coat up tight around my neck to keep me warm from the chill of a winter day. I didn’t see the need for all the fuss until I had children of my own, but now, on a much larger scale, I understand that’s how God’s love makes me feel.
If you search the Scriptures seeking to identify every act of kindness, mercy, generosity, and grace extended to us by God our Father, you’ll find that behind every gesture was His unending love. Even as His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, hung with outstretched arms, suspended between heaven and earth, the message of that Cross shouted across the corridors of time and space: “I LOVE YOU … THIS MUCH!”
Most people today are oblivious to God’s love, but I see evidence of His strong, abiding love on the face and in the life of nearly every person I meet each day. One of the profound mysteries of life to me is the realization that while people aren’t aware of God’s presence with them, God is always aware of their presence with Him.
Does that mean every person is saved? No, of course not. What it means is He is ever present, thus able to be with each of us simultaneously. I didn’t understand or recognize His fingerprints on my life before I became a believer, but looking back, the evidence is unmistakable.
On December 15, 1967, I was traveling home for Christmas break from where I attended school in Indiana to South Charleston, West Virginia where my parents lived. My normal route would have been to cross the Silver Bridge that connected Gallipolis, Ohio and Point Pleasant, West Virginia. I dreaded the delay I would always encounter by the Christmas traffic backed up to get across that two-lane bridge, because I usually got there right around 5:00 p.m.
What’s so special about the Silver Bridge? At 5:00 p.m. on that day it collapsed killing 46 people and injuring scores more. I had just turned 20 a few weeks earlier, and could have been on that bridge, but God took me on another route to take a friend home.
What’s my point? The love of God will sometimes interrupt our routines, our normal routes if you will, because He has other plans for us. One of His plans, that He had for me more than fifty years ago, was for me to write these words on this day for your eyes. He alone knew what you would be going through, and that you would need to read today about how much God loves you. What great lengths, breadths, heights, and depths He has gone to help you understand your need to receive His love into your heart and life today.
Perhaps the heartbreak you feel is causing you to wrongly believe that God has abandoned you. Quite to the contrary, He’s never been closer. His loving arms are enveloping you and His gentle voice is inviting you to trust Him. To believe that He will walk with you through these difficult days and prepare you for an eternal life with Him where you’ll never feel this way again.
A lot of things may seem wrong right now, but His is a love gone right – specifically for you! Please trust Him. If you’re not sure what to say to Him or how to reach out to Him, click on this link. https://hutchcraft.com/the-bridge-to-god
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 