Love in Spite Of by David Jeremiah

Monday, January 30

Love in Spite Of 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 
Romans 5:8 

Recommended Reading John 15:13

The British Victorian poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, published her Sonnets from the Portuguese in 1850—a collection of 44 love sonnets. Number 43 is the most famous and opens with one of the most well-known lines in all of love poetry: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” The sonnet goes on to enumerate powerful ways in which the poet loves the beloved. But there is one way to love—perhaps the most important—that is missing. The poet never says, “I love you unconditionally.”

The most heart-wrenching question about love is not, “Do you love me?” but, “Do you love me in spite of what I have done?” Loving others when things are easy is not the true test of love. Rather, unconditional love is demonstrated in the face of sin. Fortunately, we have assurance from the apostle Paul that God’s unconditional love for us is not to be doubted. He loved us “while we were still sinners” by sending Christ to die for us. God doesn’t love us because we are good, but in spite of the fact that we are sinners.

Thank God today for His never-failing, unconditional love. And let His love be an example for how you can love others (Ephesians 4:32).

God’s love for his people is infinite and unconditional. 
John Blanchard