<\/p>\n
\u201cBut God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus\u201d (Ephesians 2:4-6).<\/p>\n
GOD IS \u201cRICH IN MERCY,\u201d AS PAUL WROTE. To Christians in and around Ephesus, he spoke of the \u201cgreat love\u201d with which God had loved those who were \u201cdead in trespasses\u201d but now had been made \u201calive together with Christ.\u201d And to the Romans he wrote: \u201cTo all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (Romans 1:7). In a very special sense, then, we may say that to be in Christ is to be among the \u201cbeloved\u201d of God.<\/p>\n
Two of the most basic challenges of the Christian life are to hear \u2014 really hear<\/em> \u2014 the message of God\u2019s love and then to act<\/em> consistently with that great truth. To know ourselves as God\u2019s \u201cbeloved\u201d and to act like the people we are: these are the keys to consistency in our spiritual lives. If we verbalize the fact of God\u2019s love but don\u2019t really believe it, or if we fail to follow through and respond as we should to God\u2019s love, then our devotion to God will falter. The only thing that can keep us going is gratitude for grace.<\/em><\/p>\n It should be the most obvious thing in the world that God is to be thanked for the gifts His love has made possible. As James wrote, \u201cEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning\u201d (James 1:17). But we should constantly guard against the temptation to seek God simply for His gifts and blessings. No gift God could give us is any greater than His love, and it should be His love that is our primary interest. Indeed, all our Father\u2019s other gifts would mean little if His love were not in them. And the same thing is true in regard to our love for Him. If we love God, there will be things we are required to do in order to worship Him and serve Him. Obedience to God\u2019s will is not optional. But even more than the deeds that He requires, God is interested in the love that motivates those deeds (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). What He desires is for us to be His beloved \u2014 and to love Him for His love\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n \u201cA wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver\u201d (Thomas \u00e0 Kempis).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n