The Gift of Love

"Who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20.  How personal is this?  I am one of those whom He loves.  Each person in the world can say, "He loved me and gave Himself for me.'  I can say it, you can say it, and it is true.  He does love each one of us immensely, so much so that He gave His life to redeem you and me.  I ask you again, how personal is this?  There is a beautiful song that says, 'When He was on the cross, I was on His mind'.  He was thinking of us down through history whom He was saving as He hung there on that cruel cross.  Do you think we understand that kind of love.  I don't think I do, but I want to.  So how do we come to understand it?  I'll share a few texts that might help us.

Philippians 2:5  "Let this mind be in you which is in Christ Jesus."  I think we might understand His gift of love if we had His mind formed in ours.  What do you think?

Proverbs 3: 13  "Happy is the man who finds wisdom.  And the man who gains understanding."

If we have the mind of Christ we will find wisdom and gain understanding of the things of God, and one of those things is understanding His gift of love.

2 Timothy 1:7  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Three gifts from Him and love is right in the middle of them.  Power, love and a sound mind.

Colossians 1:27  "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."  Christ in you the hope of glory is a mystery, isn't it?  We don't know how it takes place, we only know when we experience it and we can experience it when we have His mind dwelling in us.  His Spirit dwelling in us.  He indeed is willing but our flesh is weak.

His gift of love is so perfect, so unblemished, it is so hard to understand the totality of it all, but when we ask Him to dwell in us through His Holy Spirit, we can count on Him doing it and giving us His mind because He has said, 'let this mind be in you which is in Christ Jesus.'  And that Christ in us is the hope of glory, another great promise to help us understand His great gift of love. In the book, Desire of Ages, we are told to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating Christ's lasts hours on this earth.  It will help us understand His great gift of love and in being filled with His love, we will be able to love like He does.  And be able to share it with others.  Let's pray to be filled with His gift of love, so we can pass it on to others.  God bless you as you seek to have His mind in you.  Grandma Joan.