Loving Without Limits: Because He First Loved Us

Love. While cultures vary in many ways, love can be found across the planet. When asked, however, many have a hard time defining what it actually means. Merriam-Webster lists 9 different definitions of love; some of which are nouns, others of which are verbs. For being so common, it is awfully complex!

Over my life, I have experienced many different types of love. I have had the privilege of working with (loving with action) vulnerable individuals (be it poverty, domestic violence, disaster, mental illness, developmental disabilities, or other issues) all of my life. I have fallen in love, and married. I experienced the overwhelming love that comes with carrying and giving birth to all four of my amazing kiddos (some days that is a noun, other it is definitely a verb).

Nothing reminds my Mommy heart how much my children love me like a picture that they have colored for me, filled with excitement. As a working mom (who has way too many late evenings at work), I regularly come home to "mail" (as they call it) on my pillow. I open it every time and remember how blessed I am. The pictures are always chaotic, and they almost never stay in the lines. And you know what, that is what I love most about them...there was so much love in their tiny hearts that the lines could not contain it.

With that said (even my precious baby girls), none of these, types of love however, can compare to the love that Jesus showed during his short time here on Earth.

Maybe you haven’t heard the amazing, transformative love of Jesus. Perhaps you have only heard the twisted message of fear and eternal damnation. You might even feel unworthy of His love. None of those things are true. In fact, Scripture tells us clearly about the love God has for us in 1 John 4:16-19:

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. (ESV)

Won’t you join us as we explore some of the most captivating love stories (filled with a cast of characters that all likely felt unworthy) of all time?

In Love, JSB

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