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Mary Lynn Tolar

Love Remembers

“Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark, and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.” Genesis 8:1 (NKJV)


“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Exodus 9:16 (NKJV)


 “Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, you may now dismiss Your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’” Luke 2:28-32 (NKJV)


 

Ah, February is the month of love for all our calendars, retailers, and chocolatiers. However, they just barely scratch the surface of knowledge of what love truly is. Scripture tells us in 1 John 4:8 that “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Deuteronomy 7:9 reminds us that our faithful God keeps covenants of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. We see throughout scripture that God remembers His people and acts for them because He loves them unconditionally, fulfilling the characteristics of love outlined in 1 Corinthians 13.


Dictionary.com defines remember as “to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory; think of again; to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of; to possess or exercise the faculty of memory; to have a recollection.” In relationships, we have inside jokes, keen memories of struggles and strengths shared together, and pleasant memories from victories of growth in our journeys that we laugh, cry, and ponder over.


A quick word search in my BibleGateway application found 119 recitations of “God remembered” and “the Lord remembered.” Considering 1 John 4:8, which pointedly states that God is love, I began to substitute “Love” for “God” or “the Lord.” This Lord of Love spent years teaching the Israelites how to have a relationship with Him and how to show Him love and respect so that He could, in turn, bless them.


 Just like a good father wants to show love to his children, he wants us to show Him our love for Him. Spending time with Him, learning what He likes, how He is amused, disappointed, adventurous, creative, analytical, all-knowing, eternal, and so much more should lead us to recall testimonies of His character at work around us. Just as we do with a friend or family, and remember, let’s sit around the table to tell stories of our relationships with this amazing friend, Love. Let’s honor Him by showing Him how we esteem Him, hold Him dear, fondly, and fearfully respect Him in awe for all our personal experiences at His hand.


Especially in this month celebrating love, I challenge you to spend a few minutes each day meditating on God’s intervention and moving in your life. Then, take action and pray them back to the Lord. The instances may include how Love wooed you to salvation, when He lined up opportunities and prepared you to receive a job offer or school acceptance, or the steps He led you in to resolve a relationship snare. The options are endless because Love has remembered you, His friend and child, more times than you know. They may be simple things like the nudge you received to check the air pressure in your car tires during the cold weather. These remembrances may also be big things like Simeon experienced (Luke 2:28-32) when he held Jesus, the Messiah whose ministry he had greatly interceded for in the Temple. He remembered a promise the Lord had shared with him in prayer and recognized its fulfillment in his arms by praying overwhelming thanks to the Lord. I believe this outpouring of loving remembrance put a smile on God’s face! Show your love to the Lord today, too, by remembering Him in your life and the lives of those around you. Be a blessing to Him today!



{As adapted from THE BONDAGE BREAKER and STOMPING OUT THE DARKNESS by Dr. Neil T. Anderson and Dr. Dave Park}

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