Are You Feeling the Love?

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10)

Now you must understand this right from the start, beloved.  I am a kidder!  In fact, I am a selective kidder.  I have a particular niece whom I tease whenever I get the chance.  I sort of "inherited" that job from my father who was himself a classic tease.  And whenever I do tease her, the response I typically get is also classic: "I'm not feeling the love!"  Sometimes when I do get her on the phone, I will play on that statement by starting the conversation by asking: "Are you feeling the love yet?"

 Did you know that this same question also has a very serious side?  There are plenty of people today who aren't "feeling the love" of God simply because they have no idea how much He really does love them!  And, as John as made so clear here, not only does God love us more than we could ever imagine but He chose to love us first!

So how do we know that God loves us?  The Apostle John said it is because He has sent Jesus to be the "propitiation" for our sins.  "Propitiation" is one of those $5 words that is little understood today.  The word implies a covering for in the sense of an "atoning" for our sins.  I think that I personally like the word "satisfaction" best of all.  In the laying down of His life on the cross Jesus has satisfied the holiness of God offended by our sinfulness.  We become acceptable to God in Christ because of His becoming that propitiation.  And only the deepest, most pure and abiding love could motivate anyone to make a sacrifice like that.

Are you feeling the love, beloved?  If not, perhaps you just need to respond to that love by opening your heart to Jesus Christ.  Accept His love unconditionally and you will begin to "feel the love"!  You will also find that your own heart will be able to love God in return because He will first have filled your heart with His love.  Are you feeling the love?

Ron