I grew up hearing Diana Ross sing, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”
If we had a shortage of love thirty years ago, we’re in even more desperate need of it today.
The kind of love our broken world needs is not merely sentimental or superficial. We need a love that is sacrificial. We need a love that isn’t just reserved for those who like us (or who are just like us). We need a love that doesn’t wither when relationships heat up. We need a love that is strong enough to absorb pain and not retaliate.
This kind of love doesn’t come naturally to us. It only comes supernaturally. It comes from God, because God is love (1 John 4:7-8).
God demonstrated what true love looks like when He sent us His Son, Jesus. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
When we respond to God’s love by trusting in Christ Jesus, He promises to pour out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). He fills and refills us with the love we need. His love gives us both a reason and the resources to love others. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”
When God’s love fills people’s hearts, it will make a world of a difference.
(This article is taken from That’s A Good Question, by Rick Reed. You can download a free copy of this eBook here).
Rick and Linda Reed 