Don’t Outgrow God’s Love
Devotional Reading: Ephesians 1:4 EASY
Before God made the world, he chose us to be his people because of Christ. He chose us so that we would please him. Because we belong to Christ, God accepts us as completely good. This shows how much he loves us.
Have you ever stopped to think about how much longer we stay in childhood compared to other mammals? It is said that donkeys take their first steps minutes after birth, and blue whales, who have a similar lifespan to humans, which is about 80 years, start searching for a mate after only one year of life. Can you imagine a one-year-old saying he/she wants to get married? That seems ridiculous, right?
Maybe our prolonged physical development reflects a spiritual principle. Knowing the Father’s love is certainly where our faith journey and our spiritual childhood begins, but knowing the Father’s love might also be where we need to stay… for much longer than we think.
An ‘awakening’ to the reality of the Father’s love unfolds over time. Like water being poured on the hard, cracked places of our hearts, His love seeps in and softens us until we’re moldable again. To know the Father’s love is not a quick lesson, it’s a journey. It’s a progression toward maturity that only happens when we grow in our knowledge of His Word over time. Jesus alludes to this in His parable of the sower. As time passes, the planted seeds, which represent the Word of God, produce much fruit.
In moments of crisis and in the struggles of daily life, in poverty and in plenty, in weakness and in strength, it is the Father’s love through His Word that sustains us. We grow up, but we never outgrow the love of the Father or outlive our spiritual childhood this side of eternity.
Like an oasis in the desert, our dehydrated hearts always crave the Father’s love for survival and growth. Hence, we must look for what prevents us from repeatedly returning to God’s Word for reminders of the Father’s love.
Prayer and Confession
Lord, I catch myself forgetting the fundamental truth of my acceptance as your child based on Jesus’ work on the cross. Please remind me today. Help me to believe that Your intentions toward me are good and Your ways are beyond my understanding. Amen!
Further Reading: Isaiah 64:8
