Devotion

What do you like? Do you like cats? Do you like Dogs? Do you like Bananas, Broccoli, Minecraft, Peppa Pig, Spiders, or pineapple on your pizza?

These things are all just opinions or preferences. Cats don’t need you to like them. Bananas don’t need you to like them. They are good because God made them Good. And the same is true of you. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. Your Heavenly Father loves you because he made you.

Often when we post things on social media we can feel a bit anxious about how many ‘likes' we get, but the truth is you don’t need any likes because you are just wonderful as you are. You are made unique and strong and lovely. You don’t need to do anything to earn God’s love or the love of your friends and family.

You can be proud of your achievements and the effort you put into it. You might like to share them with your loved ones so they can be happy with you, but you don’t need thier ‘like' to be proud of what you have done.

In Philippians the Apostle Paul says:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

This is how God loves us. With a pure unselfish love. And because of his love for us, this is how we can love others. Love doesn’t put conditions on our behaviour (though it does have healthy boundaries). Love cares for the other even when it is hard. This kind of love can be challenging, but it is also incredibly empowering. This is how God loves you.

Pastor Joel C