August 20

Good Saturday!

1 Corinthians 13:13 ~ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Faith, trusting and believing that God and His Word are infinitely true is good. Hope, longing for something with anticipation is good. But love, the unselfish loyal & benevolent concern for the good of another, is great.

Driving in the cramped car to yet another destination one hot day, one of my daughters elbowed my son who cried out. They had already been arguing back and forth for a while. Just one more incident like so many others. I told my daughter to stop acting so unloving towards her brother. I then asked God like so many other times for peace in my family, peace in my car, peace between my children. Why? Because maybe I was looking for some peace and quiet right then at that moment.

Then, suddenly I realized something. Peace wasn't what we were needing more of. My daughter's action towards her brother was an unloving act. Love. Of course families love each other, right? Of course. And if something terrible had happened to my son at that moment, I have no doubt my daughter would have totally acted in love instead of the opposite that she displayed in my car that day. What God revealed to me that day was that my children and I needed more of the love of the Father in our hearts. It wasn't peace we needed; it was love.

God tells us to love Him with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, all of our strength. He tells us to love others as we love ourselves. Whew. That's a tall order. The good news is that we love because our Heavenly Father FIRST loved us! He lovingly created and fashioned us. He lovingly breathed His breath into us, giving us life. He lovingly shed His blood for our multitude of sins. He lovingly made us His children. He loves us incredibly. The Word also says that He sheds His love abroad in the hearts of man. He not only lavishes His love on us, but He makes us capable of loving Him and others.

So today as your feet hit the ground running, remember to stop and spend some time with the Father. Soak in His love. Let it penetrate your heart and soul. Pray and ask Him to fill you with more of His love. Read His Word and take in His love. Just as food fills your belly, God's Word fills your spiritual belly. God loves you, and so do we at Hillcrest Church!

Have a blessed weekend!
Rolanda Green
Hillcrest Children's Minister