Even Better…

I like to take walks with my dog almost every day. One evening, I passed a
house that had so many flowers of all different colors, and it just made me
so happy! A woman was outside watering them, so I told her I loved all her
beautiful flowers. She responded with a big smile, “Flowers are the best
thing ever!”

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As I continued walking, I thought about that. While flowers are definitely
one of my favorite things, I don’t think they are the best thing ever. I
think the best thing ever… is love. And generations of human history and
storytelling seem to agree. People throughout the ages have been willing to
do almost anything for love.

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Pondering this, I remembered a Bible verse: 1 John 4:16 says, “God is
love.” Isn’t that a wonderful thought? The very thing we humans crave most
of all… is God Himself.

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Every loving interaction we have with other people is only an echo of the
beautiful love God has for us. Later on in the same passage, John writes,
“We love because he [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Out of love, God
created us. And even though humanity has rejected our Creator, He never
stopped loving us.

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And God’s love is not some ethereal, untouchable idea. God embodied His
love for us by becoming human, living among us. Jesus came bodily to earth,
and people could physically touch Him. And they could hurt Him—but only
because He allowed it. Jesus was willing to be tortured and humiliated on
the cross, because that’s what it took for our broken relationship with God
to be healed. God’s fullest expression of love for us was the ultimate
sacrifice. Jesus, God the Son, gave His own life for us so that we could
live with Him forever.

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And love is more powerful than death. After three days in a tomb, Jesus
rose from the grave—defeating sin and death forever! Now, everyone who puts
their trust in Jesus is reunited with God, the One our hearts crave above
all others. He made us for relationship with Him, and our hearts are
finally satisfied when we are His once again. • Hannah Howe

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• Do you agree that love is the best thing ever? Why or why not?

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• How can loving human relationships give us glimpses of God’s love for us?

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And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. 1 John
4:16a (NIV)

Read Verses:

Ps.63.3|John.3.16-John.3.17|1John.4.7-1John.4.19