February 2021 Mind of the Missionary

“This is Love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  (I John 4:10)

At this time of celebrating love of relationships through Valentine’s Day, I believe we, as humans, leave God out of the equation. Recently, Claren and I watched a movie that featured the following song lyrics,

“Lord, we don’t need another meadow
There are cornfields and wheatfields enough to grow
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, Lord, if you want to know

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…”

 

Notice the words, “Oh listen, Lord, if you want to know”, as though God doesn’t know, as though He needs to be informed about the mess we’ve made of the world. It’s “love, sweet love” that will solve the problem. How arrogant was the composer of this song!

 

CS Lewis wrote, “What are you(we) asking God to do? To wipe out their(our) past sins and, at all costs, to give them(us) a fresh start, … But He has done so, on Calvary.” John clearly tell us that God loves us and has done everything necessary for us to experience His love through His Son, Jesus Christ. However, we continue seeking other ways to find this type of self-less love.

 

As you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your spouse, your special someone, and/or your family, don’t forget that it is only through God’s great love for us in Christ that we even know what love is.