Today’s devotional is from Shiann:
Following are some thoughts based on some of my favorite quotes from the book The Shack. If you have not read this book, I will try not to spoil it for you. There is much depth and hope and paradigm shifting in the book. There was for me, anyway.
“Love always leaves a significant mark”
No matter what the content or context of the relationship, when love is in the midst of it, there is something that is different. Love leaves a holy mark on the lover and the loved. It simply is.
Luke 6:38 ERV “Give to others, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.”
This scripture may seem an unusual fit. In its context, it is encouraging to give and not criticize. When we give love to others, there is some of that love that splashes out onto us. In some relationships, we are wet down from head to toe. In others, it is possibly only a few droplets that are felt to return. Sometimes the love returned from the individual is in a direct proportion to how much love is given and sometimes it is not so simply evident. There are some relationships within which we can love with all that we have and the well of the other continues to be dry. Yet, the love that comes from God can make up the difference.
With that knowledge, how can we possibly not allow ourselves to love and be love? Loving others is intuitive to the Christian spirit, though not always easy. Yet it seems we've lost the importance of the beauty of allowing others to love us. We frequently feel uncomfortable with both love from God and His children. The reasons for this vary as much as the colors in the sunset. However, may this no longer be so for me or for you.
Today I pray you will love and be loved. I pray you will accept the love being presented to you. God’s love awaits you with no strings; there are boundaries but no strings.
Blessings,
Shiann
