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“We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

Have your mom and dad ever told you that they “love you more” than you could ever love them, or that they have loved you longer? If so, they are probably right. You cannot even remember knowing your parents when you were first born, or – some of you – when you were first adopted, and you are probably still learning how to love them rightly. Your parents loved you first. They brought you into their home, and you belong to them. You are learning to respond to them with love in return. But they will always be the ones who loved you first, not the other way around.

Who “invented” love? Who created it? 1 John 4 reminds us that God did. God IS love. He is the Source of perfect love. And He loves people even when they are not lovable! Could a human being ever think up on his own the idea of God’s love? No. Could we ever earn God’s love? No. Could we keep loving others if it were not for God’s help and what He has done in loving us first – before we were even able to love Him?

What are your thoughts when you remember that God is the Source of all love, and that He chose to love you when you were unlovely and unloving?

Those are some difficult words from Charles Spurgeon, but they are very true. Our response to God’s kind of love should be to love Him more and more. 1 John 4:19 says in a very simple way that we love God, because He first loved us. God is loving; it is a mark of His nature, and we who are believers should be marked by His marks. In the Bible, believers are taught to love one another because of the way that we were loved first by God.

God loved us first, so we should love Him!

My Response:
» Do I really love God?
» Why do I love God?
» Is it difficult for me to treat others with the kind of love I’ve been given?

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:10-11)

Highlights magazine has a sort of comic strip storyline with two characters, brothers named “Goofus” and “Gallant.” In the story, Goofus and Gallant are always faced with choices about things – things like helping their mother, obeying a “No Swimming” sign, or what to do on a test when they do not know the correct answer.

Somehow, Gallant always chooses to do the noble, wise, and good thing. He helps his mom with a sweet attitude. He does not go swimming in the wrong zones. And he would never cheat on a test.

But Goofus always manages to get himself in trouble. How? Well, he always chooses the easy, fun, and foolish way out of any situation. If he has an opportunity to cheat on his test, he probably will think, “It’s just for this one time” or maybe “I already know the right answer; I just forget!” If he sees a “No Swimming” sign, he will tell himself that the sign is for little kids, or for really bad swimmers, or just against swimming at certain times of the day. Goofus is quick to think of reasons why what he wants to choose is also what he should choose. Then he goes swimming, against the sign, and gets hurt, or he cheats on his test and gets suspended from school.

When we are tempted to think like Goofus does about sin, it is called “rationalizing” or “justifying” ourselves. We want our decisions to be rational (to make sense), and we want them to be just (right and good). But we also want what we want! So we fool ourselves into thinking that sin is reasonable and makes sense. We talk ourselves into calling sin something other than “sin.” We want a way to make our wrong decisions be right!

We cannot justify (make right) our own sin or anyone else’s sinfulness, because we ourselves are sinful. But Jesus Christ was not sinful. He never sinned. Do you know Jesus is able to justify those of us who want to be right with God? Even if we were to behave like Gallant all the time – always obeying mothers and signs and rules! – we still could never get rid of our sinfulness. We could never “earn” the right to be called just (right or good). But realize this: Jesus did earn the right to make us just, when He took upon Himself the iniquities (sins) of many. He bore our sins, and that was the only way we could ever be justified (made right or good) before God.

Jesus Christ is the only One righteous enough to make sinners right with God.

My Response:
» Do I try to rationalize my sin? Do I ever try to justify my sinful choices?
» How does God view any one of my sins?
» Who can make me right with God, even though I’m a sinner?

“Thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.” (Deuteronomy 13:18b)

Can you see any trees from where you are right now? Some trees are great for climbing. You can go up into the branches and sit for hours, reading a book or maybe just watching the people in your neighborhood. Maybe your elderly next-door neighbor is out in her garden inspecting her roses. Maybe you can spot the postal service car coming down the road, pausing every few seconds to put envelopes into each mailbox.

People are funny sometimes, when they do not know they are being watched. You are probably the same way. When you are alone, you probably behave a little differently than when lots of people are around. You just do whatever you feel like doing. Maybe on some Saturdays, you just stay in your pajamas all day and hang around inside the house. You might be embarrassed if someone outside your family were to see you, but it is just fine for you to make that choice, at least the way you see things.

The LORD is always watching us, though. We do not have to worry so much about pleasing other people, but we do need to remember that God can see everything, and He knows everything about us – including the thoughts of our hearts. If we really love God and want to please Him with our faith, we will not live our lives as though we think He is not watching us. God’s people listen to God’s voice, and they keep His commandments. They “do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD.”

Proverbs 12:15a says that “the way of a fool is right in his own eyes.” Have you ever caught yourself choosing to do something that breaks God’s commandments? Who were you pleasing when you made that choice? Was God watching you? Did you care? It is foolish to do only what we think is OK. What is right in our eyes is not always really right. Why? Because our spiritual “eyes” are limited. We have “blurry” vision, in a way. We are human, sinful, and selfish. We cannot get a clear picture of what is right (and we cannot be anything but fools) unless we choose instead to follow what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

The Israelites found that out the hard way, when they had a very dark time in their history. “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). When a lot of self-pleasing people get together and do whatever they want to do, a lot of bad things can happen to everyone.

God forgave the Israelites over and over again for doing their own thing and disobeying Him. He will forgive you, too, if you are sorry for focusing on yourself and what you think is fine behavior. Repent (change your mind about your sin) and turn the other way – do what is right in the eyes of the LORD instead.

The LORD sees all, and we are wise if we choose to please Him instead of ourselves.

My Response:
» Whom do I want to please? Other people? Myself? Or the LORD?
» What are some ways I can remind myself that God sees everything and knows the thoughts of my heart?
» How can I show others that I choose to do what’s right in God’s eyes?

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:30-33)

Meri sat on the bench at the mall, swinging her legs and watching the people go by. She loved “people-watching,” as her mom called it. Her mom sat next to her, sipping some soda and checking things off her list, so she wasn’t paying attention. But Meri couldn’t take her eyes off all the crowds of moving people – busy people, rich people, angry people, colorful people, laughing people, impatient people – all kinds of people!

Suddenly, Meri took in a quick breath and stopped swinging her legs. A teen-aged boy was walking by, but there was something wrong with him. His face was all flushed red and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. It looked like he had been crying really hard, and like he might just start up again. He was holding an open cell phone, but it did not seem like he was talking to anyone.

Meri had never seen a boy cry, nevermind a boy walking around crying in a public mall. There are people everywhere in a shopping mall. There are hidden cameras. Meri wondered if someone had called the boy on his cell phone and given him some bad news. She pulled on her mom’s elbow to get her attention, but by then the boy was rounding the corner and going into the restrooms. Meri felt sorry about the boy. She wished she could have helped him feel better, but she didn’t know what to do or say that might have helped.

The crying boy that Meri saw at the mall probably did not go to the mall expecting to burst into tears. He probably went to buy junk food or a pair of jeans, or maybe to hang out with some of his friends. But we cannot plan our lives out. Things happen, and sometimes we are very upset by the things that happen – whether our emotions come out as anger, fear, sadness, loneliness, or mixtures of many emotions – those are just natural human responses to things that happen.

Meri felt sad because she saw the crying boy but could not help him. But do you know that Someone else did see that boy? God saw him! Even without hidden cameras, God sees all of us, and He knows when we are in need.

What kinds of needs do you have right now? Do you think God sees you? Do you think He knows your needs? Do you think He cares? Even the flowers and birds are taken care of by God. How much more is He able to take care of His people? Matthew 6 teaches us that it is better to be concerned over spiritual, eternal things than it is to worry over eating and drinking and other needs we have.

Food, shelter, health, finances, and clothes – of course, these are not “little” needs to us, but they are very small when you compare them to the “big picture” of God’s kingdom. He is a very big God. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. He can see what we need. We can trust Him to care about the needs He sees.

We can trust God to take care of our needs.

My Response:
» Do I trust God to see me when I need His help?
» What are some needs I have right now that God could help me with?
» How can I show in my life that I believe God can take care of me?

“This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.” (Isaiah 28:29)

Have you ever heard someone called a “workaholic”? What is a workaholic, anyway? It is a nickname given to people who work all the time. In the morning, all they can think about is working. At noontime, you have to remind them to eat lunch because they get so caught up in their work! And it is hard for them to go home and relax in the evenings, because all they seem to be able to think about is work. Work, work, work! Some people really do just love to work.

For most of us, though, work is not very lovable. When we think of fun things to do, working is not at the top of the “fun things to do” list. We are tempted to be lazy and stay away from work completely! We have to “work” to make ourselves even want to work!

God is not like us. He is not at all lazy, but He does not have to be a workaholic, either, in order to get done everything He gets done. God is sovereign. He is omnipotent (“om-NIH-po-tent,” all-powerful), omniscient (“om-NISH-ent,” all-knowing), and omnipresent (“om-nih-PREZ-ent,” all-present). So whatever He decides to do, He just does it, and He does it with the best possible quality! God’s works are all excellent. Deuteronomy 3:24 – “O LORD GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might.”

Because He is Who He is, the LORD’s works have to be excellent. He is God. Since Jesus is God, He did many wonderful works (including supernatural miracles) while He lived on Earth. And He did so many wonderful things that only a “few” of them could be fit into the Bible. The disciple John wrote, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” (see John 21:25).

God created the universe. God redeems sinners from their sin. God cares for His people. God deserves honor for all He is and all He does.

Now here is an important question to think about: If God is able to do anything, and if He is willing to glorify Himself by doing great works, do you think He might be able and willing to help you in your need?

We can trust in the excellent works of the LORD Jehovah.

My Response:
» Do I remember that God is all-powerful, all-wise, and all-present?
» How is God working in my life today?