Loving on purpose

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “What the world needs now”

Our Bible verse for today: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35-36 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Loving on purpose”

I once read a story about a woman who was kidnapped and brutally raped. Ultimately the man who did it was arrested, convicted, and sent to prison. But the memory of that event haunted the woman. She was emotionally scarred and had a deep hatred for the man who did that to her.

Through the struggle of trying to deal with the pain, she came to the point of placing her faith in Christ and soon discovered she was able to forgive the man who did that to her. There even came a day when she visited the rapist in prison. She sat across the glass window from him, looked into his eyes and said, “I forgive you for what you did to me. What you did was wrong, and I’m glad you are being punished for it, but in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you.”

Later she said, “It was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do. I was physically sick at the thought of seeing him again. On an emotional level, I was afraid of him; I was repulsed by him; and – I have to be honest – I hated him. But with my husband’s support and with the prayers of many Christian friends, I was able to go to the prison and face him and say what I had to say. My feelings were not the issue. I knew that what God wanted was my obedience. He wanted me to love that man with my will and with my words, even though in my emotions I couldn’t stand the sight of him.”

“He wanted me to love that man with my will and with my words, even though in my emotions I couldn’t stand the sight of him.” What a powerful and important truth! The fact is that oftentimes love is a decision to act rather than an emotion we feel. Sometimes we have to act in love towards people – on purpose, whether we feel love for them or not. It has often been said that “Love is a verb. It is an action word.” That statement is very true and it is what Jesus calls for from His followers.

Over the next several days I will share with you some of the points from that sermon / teaching session I delivered all those years ago to that group of Gypsy Christians I told you about in the previous two devotionals. The title of the sermon was “Loving on Purpose” and it was all about God’s love being dispensed through intentional acts of ministry by the followers of Jesus.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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