双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：2月14日 上帝是爱

2月14日

上帝是爱

“你看父赐给我们是何等的慈爱，使我们得称为上帝的儿女；我们也真是他的儿女。”

约翰一书3:1

“爱”这个词，有很多不同的含义。我们说我们“喜爱”刚买的房子；或者我们“喜爱”某个度假胜地；或者我们“喜爱”果酱加花生酱三明治。我们也会“喜爱”某个电视节目，“爱”我们的丈夫或妻子。当然不是像爱花生酱和三明治那样爱我们的配偶，。

一个朋友说，爱说起来容易做起来难。但是，上帝以实际行动让我们看到祂对我们的爱。“惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死，上帝的爱就在此向我们显明了。”（罗马书5:8）那才是真正的爱。

如果上帝只是空谈祂有多爱我们，却没有付出行动，那将是多么冷酷无情呢！然而，当罪进入世界时，祂差遣了基督来满足我们最大的需要——使我们罪得赦免，与上帝和好。祂让祂那无瑕疵的、最宝贵的独生爱子来担当我们的罪孽，将我们从过犯中拯救出来，回到上帝的家中。这正显明了上帝对我们的爱。

上帝的爱是永远的，远远超越人之所爱，更不要提果酱花生酱三明治了。正是在体验上帝的慈爱中，我们才能够爱别人，包括爱那些不可爱的人。

今日祷告：

天父，您向我们倾注了何等伟大的爱！愿祢的圣灵充满我们，让我们经历祢在我们生命中完全的同在。奉耶稣的名，阿门。

February 14

LOVE AND PENUT BUTTER

Behold,what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.1 John 3:1

The word“love”is used to mean many different things.We say that we“love”the house that we have just bought or that we“love”a particular vacation spot or that we“love”a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.We also“love”a certain television program,and we“love“our husband or wife.It is to be hoped that we don’t love our spouse the same way we love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

A friend once observed,“Love talked about is easily ignored,but love demonstrated is irresistible.”God demonstrated His love toward us“in that,while we were yet sinner,Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8).Now that is real love.

If God had only talked about how much He loved us and never proved it by sending Christ to meet our greatest need-the forgiveness of sin and the healing of the breach between God and man when sin entered the world-He would have been a very cruel God.But He did more than talk.He demonstrated His love for us by sending the most precious offering He could make:His only and sinless Son,who became sin on our behalf that we might be delivered from sin and have a home in heaven.

God’s love is eternal.It outlasts everything man has ever love,including a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!It is in experiencing God’s love for us that we are able to love others,including those who might be unlovable to us.

Pray for the Day:

Father,what great love You have lavished on us!Fill us with Your Holy Spirit,and let us experience the fullness of Your presence in our lives;in Jesus’Name,Amen.