Midweek Morsel: Loving Others, Showing Them God

7452197640_7c4d4e9aea_zDid you realize that when you show love to others, you are in fact showing them a bit of what God is like? Since the Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8b), it follows that God can be reflected through our loving acts and words towards others.

In the book Bittersweet—Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way, author Shauna Niequist points out this truth especially as it applies to loving the heartbroken. Consider these words of hers and recall if this has been your experience as well:

“I believe deeply that God does his best work in our lives during times of great heartbreak and loss, and I believe that much of that rich work is done by the hands of people who love us, who dive into the wreckage with us and show us who God is, over and over and over.”

What a privilege to show God to a hurting soul, huh? Let’s remember that our expressions of love to the heartbroken can have deep and even eternal impact. Let’s show them love. Let’s show them God.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” 1 John 4:7a

*During your times of heartbreak, has someone reflected God to you through their loving deeds?

*Flickr photo by lucidtech, Creative Commons License

Midweek Morsel: Spiritual Moments in Everyday Life

IMG_4716Does everyday life ever surprise you with unexpected spiritual moments? Sweet connections with our Lord or hearts filled with gratitude, praise, or fresh insights don’t happen only when we are involved in prayer and worship and reading God’s Word. Sometimes God blesses us with such moments in the ordinary business of daily living.

Here’s what Shauna Niequist has to say in her book Bittersweet – Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way about some of her most deeply spiritual moments:

“Many of the most deeply spiritual moments of my life haven’t happened just in my mind or in my soul. They happened while holding my son in the middle of the night, or watching the water break along the shore, or around my table, watching the people I love feel nourished in all sorts of ways.”

Let’s not miss the spiritual feast that can be experienced in the everyday moments of life. Let’s be ready to look at the common with fresh eyes. Let’s be alert to all that God has for us in the everyday.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

*How has God blessed you with spiritual moments in your normal course of life?

*My photo of our grandson Isaiah