Hope, No Matter What 

(our theme for September)

1 Corinthians 13:7-8 ESV

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends.  As for prophecies they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease, as for knowledge it will pass away.”

 

These words about never-ending LOVE, that bears all things…and never ends makes me think of Mother LOVE.

No matter what I thought, said, or did, my precious Mother (God rest her sweet soul) always LOVED me.  And no matter what my children think, say, or do, I LOVE them – now and forever.

God is LOVE and LOVE never fails.  LOVE never stops.  LOVE never abandons us!  No matter what!

God LOVES us, all of us, so much that he forgives us for all of our bad or mean thoughts, words, and actions.  Even when we try to hide from Him or forget to call Him or run away from Him – He just keeps on LOVING us; hoping we will LOVE Him back!

He proved this great LOVE when He gave His only son – Jesus Christ – to die for us!  He raised Jesus from the dark isolation of the grave, and He wants to lift all of us from our darkness and isolation too!

Yet, He loves us too much to force us to stay home with Him!  He leaves the choice to LOVE or leave up to us!  I choose to LOVE!  I hope you do too!

When we choose to LOVE and reach for Him, we find Him closer than our own breath!  Like a Loving Mother, God is always near, just waiting for us to return the greatest LOVE ever known! 

With that act of returning God’s LOVE, we suddenly gain the power to LOVE our neighbors too!  And we sure do need that power in times like these!

Please pray with me now…

Dear God, thank you with all my heart for your amazing, never-ending LOVE!  Please help me to constantly reach for that LOVE and to share it generously with my neighbors – all of your children on this Earth!  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

This devotional was written and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life. 

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org. 

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.