Teach Us to Love - 1 Chronicles 16:34

Tuesday March 1

Teach us to love - 1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV)

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His love endures forever.”

Lent is such an enjoyable and sometimes sobering time for me. It is a time for me to reflect in prayer and to look back to the time when Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for me and all people by submitting to death on the cross.

It reminds me, too, of how much God our Father loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us and thus to accomplish what we could not do ourselves. That is, we could not save ourselves.

It is so amazing that God’s love for us extends from before the foundations of the world---that is, before He created the universe and the world we live in, God had already loved us. How is this possible except that God’s power and omniscience extend from before time was created.

We are encouraged to respond to God’s gracious love by receiving what He has to offer us. The Bible tells us “as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become children of God...” I am so glad that Jesus offered me forgiveness and, by His grace working in my life, caused me to become His child. My wife, Cathy, and I are so pleased we can share His love to those we serve on the Olympic Peninsula. We have been blessed to see people respond to His grace and to then become followers of Jesus.

So, how then should we respond knowing what Jesus has done for us? The Scripture verse from 1 Chronicles says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.” It is thankfulness that should then characterize our Lent worship. Moreover, may we learn to love others as Jesus has loved us.

Heavenly Father,
I offer You thanks for Your love for me and pray that, by Your Holy Spirit at work in my life, I too might learn to love others as You have loved me.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Deacon Tom Benzler (Ioway) - Olympic Peninsula, Washington