You are Special

God's Love

Today I have the single word LOVE to share in today's Devotional. We all know that that word can be bandied around insincerely and has different nuances of meaning and significance, such as 'I love my children' in contrast to 'I love strawberries and cream'. The Greeks have many different words for different types of love, such as for brotherly love, unconditional love, romantic love etc. Today, I believe, that God wants you to focus on the fact that He loves YOU. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a is often read at weddings as signifying the love between a newly wed couple. On reading the verses now, concentrate on the words as God's love applying personally to you. "Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the Truth. It always protects. It always trusts, always hopes. It always perseveres. Love never fails." Be convinced of God's love for you, whatever your current circumstances look like right now. Remember that though roots grow underground in darkness, a plant does burst forth in due course.

The magical Sintra Micro Climate

Today I was reminded of the micro climate of the beautiful area of Sintra, near Lisbon, Portugal. It is often shrouded in a thick sea fog making it appear magical, because of all the abundant majestic foliage and picturesque palaces it engulfs whilst, meanwhile, everywhere nearby could be baking under a cloudless sky. I may sound like a marketing leaflet but it truly can be stunning. It sometimes seems like fairyland or the setting for magical princesses and if you dismiss my descriptions as nonsense Sintra continues to exist. Similarly, we can consider that God, God's Kingdom, Heaven, Eternity don't exist but that doesn't mean they do not exist. In not believing, the loss is ours. At least seek as there are so many of us who believe and do not let go of our belief.

You are Special

I am reminded of a Christian allegorical story, "You are Special", about a wooden community, in which the wooden people cover each other in golden stars when they think they have a talent or look good. If someone has seemingly failed or is not looking good, they are given grey dots. One female wooden character had no stars or dots and the protagonist in this story learns that it is because she makes daily visits to her Maker who reassures her that he made her with love and with no mistakes. Furthermore, the Maker emphasises that the value of his creations should not be dictated by the stickers, whether good or bad/ criticism or praise. The author of this story is encouraging us to understand that, similarly, God loves us unconditionally. As Apostle Paul declared, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). In John 12:26 we read that God honours those who honour Him. As such, we don't need man's honour.

Relax

Today I feel that the Holy Spirit wants to remind us to relax, not necessarily in the context of putting our feet up but more to loosen our mental hold on what could potentially stress us. We need to learn to relax in the Lord, which requires complete trust in Him. There are many verses that remind us of this. For instance, Mathew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls". Jesus is not out to accuse and condemn us but instead to convict us if necessary and to comfort us. Another often quoted verse is "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Note that it says "all".

A soft bull dog clip

Today I saw a picture in my mind's eye of a soft bulldog clip. Usually this type of clip is a hard metal device for temporarily, but firmly, binding loose sheets of paper together. I believe that this soft clip is a reminder that God wants to bind us all together to Him in love, in a soft, comfortable but committed way, of our own free will. "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." (Hebrews 6:17-19). 'We who have fled' is referring to the cities of refuge where a person who had accidentally killed someone could run to as a safe haven before facing a fair trial (see Numbers 35:6,9). Grace, mercy and understanding are extended to us when we bind ourselves to God. Jesus died for all of us for all our sins but we need to choose, in free will, to 'flee' to him. We are being convicted, not condemned. We having nothing to fear. We have 'hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure'.