Reading: 1 Peter 4:1 – 19
Key Verse:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
Devotion:
As a teenager, I smoked, drank, snuck out, and continuously disrespected my mom, causing her great pain. Despite this, I never felt unloved by her. In this same way, God shows us unconditional love. We don’t deserve it, but He loves us anyway as He calls us to a hard love and challenges us to rise above our pain, to love others even through their messes.
This includes our friends, family, children, and spouses. Right now, I feel this especially for my adult children. Hard love is comparable to the prickly pear able to survive harsh climates while maintaining tender fruit and seeds of love. As this plant is susceptible to disease, we are susceptible to struggle, but when we recognize that love is a commitment not a feeling, we can stand firm.
Along with the pain that accompanies hard love, we need to be prepared to suffer for Christ. If you came to Christianity thinking it would make life easier, you were misguided. “Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so but the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies,” (2 Corinthians 4:10). In some ways life has even more challenges when we choose to serve God as we began to face persecution.
The prince of this world is not happy with our decision to serve God; he is determined to change our minds, but we cannot let him. Life may come with more challenges, but without Jesus we have no one to carry our burdens and we have no hope. Remember your reward in heaven, as Paul shares in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” Even if life is a constant struggle as it has often felt like to me, there is an awesome reward waiting for us on the other side.
Prayer:
Father God,
Please help me to love with a hard love as I learn to accept my suffering as a gift. Thank You for carrying me when life is tough. In Jesus name! Amen!