1 John 4:7, 1 John 3:16, Philippians 2: 4-8, Psalm 145, Ephesians 5:2, 2 Corinthians 2: 15-16, Hebrews 13: 15-16



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'And walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet - smelling aroma.' Ephesians 5:2

When we talk about the aroma, it's a parallel to the Old Testament in light of worship. Our worship is an expression and demonstration of our love for Him.

Read 2 Corinthians 2: 15-16

In our witness as believers the fragrance is that which leads to life, eternal life. But for the non-believer the fragrance or aroma is that of death, that of judgement. How would you rather smell? Are we fragrant with the smell of being washed by the blood of Calvary's cross or are we smelling of the fragrance of what happened the night before last? Our potency is dependent upon those around us or lack of people around us.

It's the same for our worship.

Read Hebrews 13: 15-16

Can we this morning bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. Can we give thanks to the Lord, all you His people; give thanks to the Lord for he is good. Let us praise, let us thank, let us celebrate and dance, come on give thanks for he is good.

Receive our adoration, Jesus Lamb of God. And so it's in our witness and worship that displays the love we have of God to the standard set via the cross.

We can say the words 'God is love', but really and truly it's via the cross of Calvary that we can truly say GOD IS LOVE!

I would be telling the truth if I said that His love is unfailing, everlasting, never changing. We can get love form God, just as we can get cash out the cash point machine; but we can cut ourselves out of credit where we stop believing that GOD IS LOVE! We can begin to smell again, that fragrance that dominated our lives for so long before coming to faith begins to seep back in.

If we are made in His image and His likeness then we should see ourselves as a reflection of the nature of God.

We love all sorts of things; family, friends, possessions, hobbies and much more and our lives can revolve around such things. I'm not saying we shouldn't love such things. We shouldn't allow them to love us. The 'love' of money is the root to all evil. Our roots should be firmly fixed to love God with all we have and are.

A quote by Mother Teresa says, 'In loving and serving we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is love and when we love we are like God.

God is self giving; God's love is sacrificial; God's love is unconditional; God's love is eternal; God's love is holy; God's love is comforting and God's love is life-changing.

One of the greatest human needs is to be loved. We all need love or as the Beatles titled their song 'All You Need is Love'. Tina Turner in her song asked the question, 'What's Love Got to Do with It?' In answer to her question and maybe yours, love has everything to with it, for if it wasn't for the love God had for us He would not have sent His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

I want you to know that we are all important to someone; truly, madly, deeply; someone cares for us and about us; wants us and accepts us unconditionally. Listen to what He has to say to YOU!

The Father's Love Letter CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.