Daily Devotional for Thursday, August 7

Love Is Complete

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became man, I put away childish things,” 1 Corinthians 13:11.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the epitome of love. True love is commitment and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of another person. Who can we look to for a greater example than our Savior? He left His glorious heavenly home and came to this earth as a humble servant (Philippians 2:7). He was tempted in every way and overcame, making Him our perfect High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). And in the end, He gave His very life for us, while we were still wicked sinners (Romans 5:8). Our Lord Jesus gave up everything for us at an extremely great cost to Himself.

Today, we have the complete Word of God to testify of all these things concerning our Savior. He fulfilled the Law perfectly and gave us the law of love. “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Galatians 5:14). In 2 Peter 1:5-7, we see building blocks of virtue that begin with faith and culminate in love. The expectation is that as we mature in Christ, we will learn to love as He loves and be complete in Him.

Love is misunderstood by many today. The idea of love is often associated with feelings rather than commitment. Many see love as being made to feel good by the actions or affection of another person. This is selfish. While love does come with good feelings at times, it requires steadfast commitment even when the good feelings are gone. Love requires endurance, sacrifice and unselfishness. Be careful not to take on the world’s view of love. Spend time with the Lord and allow Him to mature you in His love.

REFLECTION

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

Darla Goodrum