In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10

 During church on Sunday, I got to hold our 4-month-old granddaughter. She fell asleep in my arms and was so peaceful.  Since the service began, I didn’t want to wake her, so I held her as long as I could. At one point my arm had gone to sleep and thought it was going to fall off, yet, I still held onto her. Why? Because I love her and knew sleep was essential to her health and growth (and I didn’t want her awake and fussing during the sermon).

 Today’s verse reminds us that because of God’s love, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to make payment for our sins. Why? Because of His great love He has for you and me. God’s love for mankind goes further than our mind can comprehend, but in order for Him to accept us, we need His forgiveness to be covered for our transgressions. Jesus took care of that by dying on a cross, as a substitute for us, so we could have the perfect relationship with Him.

 If you are a child of God, you should go to great lengths to extend His love to others. Yeah, there are people out there who are hard to love, much less like, but God calls us to love others as much as we love ourselves. That might seem like a tall order, but with God’s help, anything is possible.

 Love is what kept Jesus Christ from turning away from death on a cross. He knew why He came to earth, to save us from our sins. Extend that love to others, no matter how difficult it might be, because one day we will all stand before God to give account for the love He gave us and how we extended that love to those outside the faith. Let love reign in your heart this week!