January 17

Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. — 1 John 4:7-8 BSB

If you have ever loved Jesus with a pure affection, if you have ever felt Him near, dear, and precious to your soul, that love can never be lost. It may lie dormant, and indeed it often does. It may not be actively felt, but it is still there. “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let them be accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22). You would be under that curse if the love of the Lord Jesus were to die out of your heart. But that love often sleeps. When a mother watches over her sleeping child with deep affection, the child is unaware of the mother’s loving gaze. But when the child wakes up, it can feel and return the mother’s caresses.

It’s the same with the soul when love in the heart is like a sleeping child in a cradle. But when the soul opens its eyes and sees Jesus smiling upon it, it responds to His love, reaching out to embrace Him. This is the power of love.