Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: The Source of Love! (LISTEN HERE)
How much you love determines how much you spend.
A couple days ago was Valentine’s Day. How much did you spend to show love to the special someone in your life?
Your initial response might be… I spent money on flowers, chocolates, dinner and a card.
Does the amount of money you spend indicate how much you love a person? Perhaps. But as the Beatles sang, “Money can’t buy me love.”
Love certainly moves us to spend money, but love is not merely or always accurately measured by how much money you spend on someone.
Yet how much you love, determines how much you spend.
Let’s go back to Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus.
At first Zacchaeus had little love for Jesus, but a curiosity. So he was willing to invest a little bit of his time and climbing abilities to see Jesus. Yet that changed when Jesus spent time with him. When “salvation came to his house,” and most importantly his heart, Zacchaeus was willing to love those he cheated by returning what he took. Really it was a reaction to how much he had been loved by Jesus and was now willing to “spend” or invest more in loving God by loving others.
Jesus spent on Zacchaeus because he loved Zacchaeus. He spent his afternoon with Zacchaeus. He spent his reputation on Zacchaeus as he went against the cultural norm to be seen with Zacchaeus. But most importantly Jesus would spend his life on Zacchaeus.
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
The reason that salvation came to Zacchaeus because Jesus came to Zacchaeus. The reason that Zacchaeus was able to love, was because Jesus loved him.
John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus was willing to spend much more than money on us. He spent every aspect of his life on us because he loved us that much.
So what about us? What are you willing to spend?
Sure, at times we express our love and it means spending money. But perhaps the love you have for the Lord and for others leads you to spend your time. Investing a portion of the time you have can be an incredible expression of love. Spending your abilities and skills to serve someone can be an amazing expression of love. Spending your emotions to empathize and be with someone going through a tough time can be an incredible investment. Perhaps very few of us have or will have the opportunity to give up our life for someone, yet the greatest investment we can make in someone else is our lives themselves.
How much you love determines how much you spend.
God has loved you first. Spend your life loving him and those he puts around you.
Apply: What love opportunities have you missed or avoided because the cost was too much? What love opportunities have cost you the most? What was the outcome?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for spending everything to love me. AMEN.