Scripture Passage: 1 John 4:7-8, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Greetings in the love of God!
Indeed, God is love as Paul emphasized the love of God in his first letter to the Corinthian Church saying, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthian 13:7 ESV translation)
Hence, the love of God was made manifest among us when our heavenly Father sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him and experience His gracious love for us and that His love is perfected in us.
Our Church theme for this year is “Loving God and His People Concretely” based on the Scripture passage in Matthew 22:37-39 where Jesus explained the two Greatest commandments to an expert in the Jewish religious law, putting forth the importance of loving God with all our heart, soul and mind and also to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.
If God is love and that His love is made complete in us then we need all the more to know this love that surpasses understanding and to experience this love that truly transforms our lives.
Hence, the focus for us this year and also the focus for every believer in Christ is to live out this love with deep gratitude in our hearts towards a loving God.
For this, we are encouraged to dwell deeper into the teachings of God’s love in Holy Scripture, to learn and grow how to love and serve God and His people concretely as a family in Christ.
So, what does it mean to love and serve God and His people concretely?
Well, I would borrow Elder Bettina’s creative phrase shared during our leaders’ planning retreat last year which is expressed as an“#outofthewaylove”.
Here is an illustration in the form of a graphic expression designed by our brother Derek:
In God’s love we learn to love others because “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor. 13:7)
As we journey together dedicating to express the love of our Saviour, let us encourage one another and strive together to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls and to share His sacrificial love among us as well as in sharing His gracious love to our neighbours.
For God longs for the Church and each of His redeemed child to be carriers of His love to homes, communities and nations for His glory.
May the Lord Jesus Christ help each of us to grasp the enduring love of God.
May the Holy Spirit be our guide to spur us in sharing the #outoftheway love of God to others.
May the love of our heavenly Father dwell in us aboundingly always. Amen.
In Christ,
Rev Daniel Lee
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