While we continue to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe we have a great opportunity to represent Jesus well as we respond to God’s calling with a hearty, “Here Am I”!  Over the next 13 days I will continue sharing the devotions from my “Here Am I” book to help each of us pray about our response to God as He calls us to Himself.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you see and respond to God’s calling as you see Him working in your “everyday” life.

Here is day nineteen with an important reminder that you, and those around you, have been called by God to be loved.

Called To Be Loved

“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.“
Jude 1:1-2 (NIV)

How loved do you feel?  Why?  Do you ever think you are unlovable?  Why?  What does it take to make you feel loved?  Does that change based on who the love is coming from?  Why?  Is unconditional love the same as unconditional approval?  Explain.  How does the love you have experienced from people influence your view of God’s love?  Should it?  How does knowing that God Himself has called you to be loved by Him change the way you experience His love?  Will living as one loved by God change you?  Why?

Sometimes the person we think most undeserving of being loved is our self.  While there may be a lot of factors which lead us to believe that, the truth is that God has called each of us to be loved by Him!  Our actions do matter to God but not in the sense that they increase or decrease His love for us.  Even the best love that we experience from people pales in comparison to the purity of the love that only God can give.  When God says that He so loved the world that He gave, He means that He loves you and I now and He loved us when we were dead in our sins.  Living as one loved by God is indeed a sacred calling.

As you pray about being loved, ask God to bring healing to whatever is in your life that tries to convince you that you are unlovable.  Pray that you would seek to please God because of His love rather than seeking God’s love by pleasing Him.  Pray that any doubts you may have about God’s love for you would be dispelled as you respond to His call to be loved.  Pray for the courage to live as one loved by God as you represent Him to people who need to experience that same love.

In prayer,

Tom