Gracious God, bring Your peace to the challenges before this dear reader. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Besides philos, the other type or description of love was eros, or that which we call romantic love. Not too much explanation is needed for this. The greatest type of love is agape, unconditional love which some would say can occur only on a spiritual plane. For the beliver this is the type of love that God shows towards us. We can stand before God in our worst state, ask for forgiveness and we will be made completely clean, all while being loved by God. This falls under that title, "Crazy Love." How could anyone ever love me? is a question many ask. We either do or have done to us things that fall under the category "lost cause," yet God never gives up on us.
Nellie and I in our empty nest years have found our television tastes going in directions we never dreamed. I once overheard Kelly Ripa of the "Regis and Kelly" show fame, mention that she and her children love watching a show called "Casso Cerrado," (Case Closed, as in a legal sense) and so one day I taped one of the shows to see what that was all about. Nellie and I are both native speakers of Español, but fair warning - we sometimes understand little to nothing of what gets shared in the heat of anger on this show. Put simply, this is a Spanish Judge Judy type show but with more understanding and compassion thrown in. The show brings out those who do or have done to them things not thought possible. Watching it has added to my prayer list. Yet, everyone on this show, whether they're actors or in most cases, the real persons in the case, can find love and forgiveness in the arms of God. Again, that's crazy!
You and I could never work out our lives to a level we could say, "Ah, now I deserve God's love!" It just doesn't work that way. All we have to do is stand at a point where we realize we need and want that love and simply ask for it. Because of what Jesus Christ did for us, we receive forgiveness and full entrance into a loving relationship with God Almighty.
PRAYER: Loving God, I stand in need of forgiveness, make me clean. Let me have a heart filled with Your love. Let my life today reflect to others, especially those who believe they could never be loved, that love from You that can come to them. Give me the opportunities, the words, the boldness, to share Your love. I ask this in Christ Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
