Devotionals for the Heart: The matchless love of God for humankind

The Love of God
A devotional by Colette Lawrence

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”—John 3:16 (NLT)

John 3:16 is such a familiar Scripture to many people, but have you ever paused and considered what it truly must have cost God to send His sinless and perfect Son (Jesus Christ) to lay down His life for you and me?

As a parent I can’t truly fathom this—to be faced with losing your only child to save the entire world, knowing how He would be rejected and what He would have to go through, I don’t know if I could let my child be a sacrifice to save even one person, much less the entire world! But that’s why God is God, and we are not.

As we go through this Easter season when we acknowledge the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior (Jesus Christ), sometimes we can miss the true impact of what God has done because we have allowed it to become normal.

We sing the songs and read the scriptures, but if we are honest, sometimes the meaning of what we are singing and reading is lost on us and the magnitude of what Christ has done for us seems trivial. This is because the cares and concerns of this world overwhelm us to the point where we forget or take for granted the sacrifice that was made for us. This was a one-time sacrifice planned before the foundations of the world and born out of God’s love for us and the desire for us to be reconciled and reunited with Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Such love!

What is love? In my own definition, it is an emotion followed by the action of someone who has care and concern for us, but that is the natural love of humankind. But the love God expresses towards us is agape love. It is the sacrificial and unconditional love that God has for us. We see this demonstrated in 1 John 4:9-10 (NLT): “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” There is nothing that you and I can do to earn God’s love. We can’t work for it. God’s love is given to us freely.

As I reflect on my own life and the many mistakes I made, and the countless times when I willingly and sometimes unwillingly choose sin over God’s love for me, I used to ask myself, “How could it still be possible for God to love me?” To think that our Lord and Savior who knows the beginning and the end (Isaiah 46:10), and all the choices we would make in between that would hurt His heart, God still made the choice to send His only Son to die for us (John 3:16-17).

We deserve the penalty of what we did (Romans 6:23), but because God loves us, He gave each of us the choice to accept His love or reject it. God knows what the benefits and penalties are, and He gave all humanity the equal choice: Choose eternal life to be reunited with Him in Heaven or choose eternal separation.

Remember: No one else can love us the way the Lord does. His undying love for us is unconditional and perfect. Our love as humans can be fickle and dependent on how we are feeling in the moment. We withdraw it from others when things go awry and bestow it when things are going well. Thankfully, that is not the type of love God has for us! Can you imagine what it would be like to one minute know you are forgiven by God and have the promise of eternal life then the next minute, that blessed assurance is taken away? Who could stand that kind of up and down relationship with the Lord? The good news is that it is not possible for God to change His mind (Numbers 23:19). God’s love for us is constant and steadfast. It doesn’t change whether we think we deserve it not, or whether we did something good or bad. Neither does it change with our life’s situations and challenges.

As we go through this life on Earth, how will you approach Christ’s love for you? Will you choose to embrace and accept what He did on the cross for you, or will you walk away believing it is not possible for God to love you unconditionally?

As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, every day is a reminder of what God did for me. This Easter season is dear to me because it is a reminder that the Maker of Heaven and Earth, the King of the Universe and Creator of this world, gave to us His only Son as a living sacrifice in order to save us from our sins.

Our focus should not be on why Jesus Christ died for us, but to acknowledge that He willingly laid down His life for you and me. As we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection, let’s focus more intently on what we read in the Bible and the songs we sing in church to celebrate Christ’s victory over death and our hope of salvation. May this cause us to be reminded that the Eternal King (God and Jesus Christ) loves us unconditionally and forever!

Let’s Pray:

Father God,

Thank You for your love for us. Thank You for sending your Son to die for us even though we didn’t deserve it. We are grateful for your choice to lay your life down for us. We honor and praise you for all you have done and will do for us. Thank You, Jesus! 

In your precious name we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Just for Me” by Donnie McClurkin. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Colette Lawrence is an empowered woman who inspires women to be who they were created to be. Her core message is empowerment. She is an author, certified life coach, podcast host, and trainer with the Maxwell Leadership team. 

Colette believes that an empowered woman empowers others and is powerful in knowing who she is and what she can accomplish. Colette is on a mission to impact the lives of the women assigned to her, whether she is their coach or trainer or shares a word that will transform their lives.

Colette utilizes her Christian principles as the base of all her engagements. She is passionate about fulfilling her life purpose of empowering women to know who they are, rebuild their confidence, and use their voices as tools to uplift themselves and others.

​​She is the founder of the M.E.E. Movement L.L.C., a faith-based empowerment ministry business that helps women of faith rebuild their confidence and use their voice to walk in their purpose through life coaching, mentoring, and empowerment speaking. Colette believes in using the gifts God has given her to help women be who God has called them to be and ultimately fulfill the purpose for which they were created. She lives by Romans 8:28 (NIV), that promises, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

A native of Jamaica, Colette resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is the mother of two beautiful young women, a son-in-love, and two grandsons. Colette enjoys reading, writing, watching good movies, and chatting with her daughters and friends.

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Connect with Colette:
Blog: https://www.colettemarie.online/blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colettemarie_cm/
Website: https://www.colettemarie.online/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ColetteMarie-cmc
Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2367935
Email: Colettemarieonline@gmail.com