Jayamsih..! Welcome to today’s devotion!
Love That Suffers
1 Peter 4:1-2
- The average believer has never faced the tribulation that comes upon every ministry that is effective in God’s Word. It’s not talking about the complications of martyrdom, it’s not about reaping what you sow, but it’s talking about the suffering that comes with being identified with Christ. Many people pick up on small problems and call them trouble, but they are not trouble.
Those who are persecuted because of their acquaintance with Christ, because of love, they are also persecuted for others. They have stopped living for themselves. Now that it is not in their body, they equip themselves with the mind of love. Their words now speak of living their lives for the purpose of redemptive love.
Consider where Christ was placed because of His redemptive love. Love left Christ accused, forsaken, nowhere to hide his head, hungry, thirsty, lonely, and suffering because his love was wounded. He loved so much, that his life was spent entirely in becoming acquainted with the needs of the weak.
Even when those who for a time doubted his love forsook him and rejected him even though they knew that he loved them perfectly, he continued to be familiar. Think about what it means to suffer for the sake of love. It can also mean going hungry, that too because of the opportunity to serve the multitudes. It can mean getting tired, walking an extra mile with them for a chance to win a soul. With no thought for the flesh, heavenly love lives in its choice, always in the will of God.
Today’s Reading: Psalm 55-57