July 01, 2018

Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: IF

When I was obtaining my undergraduate degree in Art Education, I was required to take Statistics.  It was like a foreign language to me...LITERALLY!  The professor would often slip back into his first language throughout the class time.  I would not answer questions, I would not ask questions, and I would not participate in any way during the class time.  I felt lost. My confidence was shook.  This was not my norm.  In my art & educations classes, I was the text book nerd with my hand constantly up to answer & ask questions.  I loved participating, because I actually knew what I was talking about.  I loved being a part of those classes because I felt like they were truly an extension of me.  If I had felt the same about Statistics, maybe it would have been a different experience. 


Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:11 NASB

Reading this scripture in the NASB really struck me..."if God so loved us"  IF?  Why would the author write if?  The question of "if" is a call to action.  It makes us evaluate what we believe, what we know, what we understand, and how that belief/knowledge/understanding impacts our life.  If we are unsure of something, we do not act upon it as we would with something we are assured. So if we find ourselves not able to love one another.....maybe the struggle is not "them"......but "us"!  Maybe we have not truly embraced the truth of God's love for us.  Maybe we struggle with feeling lovable.  Maybe we struggle with feeling worthy.  Maybe we believe we have to earn it, and we're not sure we've done enough.  This is all wrong thinking.  The author is not calling into question IF God loved us, but because He loves us...we need to be acting differently.  We need to be thinking differently.  We need to be loving differently.  We are called to love with the love of the Lord.  That love is radical.  That love requires us to love because it is an extension of who we are....and we can not help but love like God loves us.  IF GOD SO LOVED US....WE ALSO OUGHT TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER! 

1 comment:

  1. I struggle with thoughts wondering IF my students enjoy learning Art, or IF my teaching style is effective? or IF they understand what they're doing! It seem like a worrisome attitude and perhaps next year will be a different more confident experience. I am assured that God is love, through knowledge of Jesus, and even though my ways aren't perfect there is always hope and a new day for starting again.

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