God's Love Is Like a Street Vent

READ: PSALMS 136:1-26; 139:7-12; 1 JOHN 4:7-21

I was driving my usual route in town when I noticed something out of the ordinary—a mystic cloud of steam puffed from the streets’ vents alongside my car. It looked majestic, floating there in the broad daylight of the winter day. I kept driving and noticed the street was lined with other billowing vents, large cotton-ball puffs floating next to me while I drove.

I’d been living in that town for months but never noticed the vents before. Yet they were always there, releasing their steam into the world. Only when the temperature got cooler could I notice the white floating clouds.

In a way, God’s love is like a street vent. God is always there, releasing His love into the world, surrounding us with it. As we move forward, His love lines the road alongside us. On a warm spring day when life is sunny and bright, we might not notice it. Our hearts are full, and we might not feel like we need to search for His love.

Then winter comes. Cold, hard times settle in. We’re still moving, driving down our paths, but now we might search out God’s billowing love. It was always there, though, on the warm days and the cold ones. God’s love was perfectly displayed in Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. No matter where we are, that same love is always, always with us.

I want to remember the street vents are there on those warm spring days. When things are going well, I want to remember God’s love. I want to remember it’s surrounding me and others too.

My spring season might be someone else’s winter. They could be moving through the cold, unaware of God’s love surrounding them on all sides. I want to help them feel the love, show them that even though it’s cold, God’s goodness is still billowing, still surrounding them during the journey. • Jenna Brooke Carlson

• Happier seasons in life can point us to God’s goodness, while more difficult times can remind us of our dependence on Him. What season of life do you find yourself in right now? Where do you see God’s love present?

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1 (NIV)