What True Love is

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.“ 1 John 4:10 NIV

In a story titled “A marathon runner gave up a shot at breaking her personal record to veer off course and save a tiny kitten,” it was reported that Sarah Bohan, a runner from Boston, was on pace to beat her personal record at the Chicago Marathon. But at mile 21, she stopped and walked a mile to help a stray kitten that wandered onto the course. Bohan, who ran for an animal welfare group, found a spectator to adopt the cat before finishing the race. Bohan finished the marathon in an impressive three hours, 31 minutes, and 35 seconds (but missed out on the chance to beat her existing personal record of 3 hours, 12 minutes, and 59 seconds). Bohan has already raised $1,750 for PAWS Chicago — an organization that aims to save healthy animals from euthanasia and find them safe homes.

And you know, when it comes to the greatest sacrifice that could ever be made, the Bible tells us that God loved us so much that He “sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Can you fathom that type of love? I mean it’s one thing to love a kitten so much that you would sacrifice a race PR to save it but a whole other thing for Jesus to give His life to save lost sheep that didn’t love Him. Do you get that? Not that we loved God, but that He loved us! That’s why He did it! And that, my friends, is what true love is. 

So if you have not accepted this free gift of salvation that Jesus provided when He died on the cross, I highly urge you to do so my friend. It will be the best decision you ever make and will ensure that you spend eternity with the One who loves you so much that He was willing to die for you. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us when we didn’t love You back. Help us to love others in the same way Lord so that they would seek the One who models what true love is. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!