In Jesus You Are: Understanding Your Identity in ChristSample

Thursday: In Jesus I am Loved

Read: 1 John 4:10–19, Romans 8:35–39

SOAP: 1 John 4:10

“In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

In the English language, we only have one word for “love” and we use it dozens of ways. We say we love our new shoes, we love our spouse, we love the new book we borrowed from the library, and we love our favorite coffee. Love is often thought of as a feeling, an emotional response to something that brings us joy or delight. This also means love can be fleeting as our tastes change, our relationships shift, or things that used to bring us joy are replaced by something new.

God’s definition of love is not based on what we feel, but what was revealed to us through Jesus’ life and death. Love comes from God. Love came down to us from heaven in the physical presence of Jesus Christ, giving us a gift so unimaginable and undeserved that we could never do enough to earn it. It is simply and profoundly a gift from God.

First John 4:19 says, “we love because He first loved us.” When our identity is firmly rooted in the knowledge that we are loved by the Creator of the universe, the love we show others comes from an overflow of what God has already done for us. This love will not change its mind and it is not dependent on what we can do to deserve it. God’s love will not fail.

Prayer: God, thank You for loving me and calling me Your beloved. As I claim “loved” as my identity in Jesus, help me share this love with others, especially those who feel hurt, alone, or abandoned. Yours is a perfect love, and I am so grateful for it. Amen.