Feeling Loved
by Grace Bull
Someone commented recently that we receive God’s love through faith, just as we receive other good things by faith. I pondered that thought and wondered if it was biblical. Is love something that we receive by faith? Or is it mainly an emotion and an experience, such as “I felt God’s love today”?
In many important ways love is not a feeling at all, but it’s something a person does. If you love someone you act in certain ways, regardless of feelings. I can love another person by my actions, even if my feelings are frozen or distressed. Love isn’t dependent on feelings. I can choose to love you even if you act in ways I don’t like. Love is choosing to be patient. Love is choosing to persevere, to hope and to trust (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
Love keeps no record of wrongs. What a challenge that can be! Jesus also told us that if our brother sins against us we should speak to him about it, and take others along if he will not listen. So we’re not to ignore wrongs or allow people to go on sinning without challenging them. But we mustn’t hold grudges or keep repeating stories of how someone sinned against us.
God still loves us, even when we don’t feel it. Of course, God doesn’t suffer from frozen emotions like we do. He feels huge emotions when He thinks of you! Wonderful, warm, welcoming emotions! Zephaniah 3:17 says: ‘He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing’.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me. I choose to believe it in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Grace Bull is a member of the Ellel Ministries team, working in course development and the support of Ellel centres worldwide, having previously been a full-time GP (family doctor) for 15 years. Her passion is relationship with God and doing anything that will help other people to find that close relationship too.
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