It’s the month of Love and service this Sunday was exciting even as it was a special service tagged “Is this Love that I am feeling? Besides the prayers, worship and the word, we got to watch an interesting movie that accurately illustrated the love of God and how he relates with us regarding our past.
Pastor took a cue from the movie speaking of how it reminded her of God’s attitude towards our past, she mentioned Peter as a perfect example of this, having denied Jesus three separate times during his arrest, the consequence should have been him being equally denied by Jesus as he once told his disciples would happen to anyone who denies him, however, when Jesus appeared to Peter after his resurrection, he spoke nothing of the incident; God relates with us in the same way, irrespective of what we may have done, he has only the best thoughts about us, his thoughts towards us are thoughts of peace, to give us an expected end, that is; to navigate us from where we are to where we ought to be.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Ephesians 5:2
Pastor charged us to receive this message and to also respond to it by loving others the same way God loves us, to have Jeremiah 29:11 as our yardstick in relating with others, to hold only the best thoughts about them irrespective of any mistakes or offense on their part, she reminded us that Jesus had many people who mocked him, spat on him and ridiculed him even on the cross but he never for once hurt anyone even when he could, instead, he prayed for them, she reminded us of how James and John once wanted to call down fire to destroy a city that didn’t receive Jesus but he rebuked them reminding them that it wasn’t in their nature to destroy, Pastor charged us to live our lives likewise, to love others and only want the best for them at all times.
We also learnt that the love of God has been shared abroad in our hearts such that we can love with the same potential with which God loves people.
Pastor read from 1 John 2:22-23,
“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
God expects and commands us to love others just like he loves them, he wants us to train ourselves to ignore the past failures or mistakes of others, to see them for who they are and to be excited about their future, in doing so, he says we’ll receive whatever we desire from him when we come to him in prayer; the man who walks in love walks in the realm of absolute possibilities.
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