In the middle of our ordinary days, we are invited to pause and reflect on this truth:
The love we long for is not something distant, but someone present.
Scripture Readings
Psalm 36:5-9
"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light."
1 John 4:9–12 (ESV)
"In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us."
A Prayer for the Week
God of Love,
Your steadfast love reaches farther than our failures
and deeper than our suffering.
Help us to trust that you are not distant, but near,
a refuge when we are weary, and a fountain of life when we feel empty.
Thank you for loving us first.
For showing us the way of loved, marked by humility and self sacrifice.
Teach us to walk in the way of this love,
show us how to receive it, and how to give it away.
When shame or weariness rise in us today,
help us take refuge in the steady reality of your love.
Quiet us with your mercy and kindness,
and teach us to live from the abundance of your goodness.
As we receive your love,
form us into people who reflect it,
so that your love may be made complete among us.
Amen.
Reflect
- Where do I find it hardest to believe that God truly loves me - especially in my weakness, sin, or suffering? How does the good news of Jesus meeting us where we are challenge that belief?
- What would it look like to take refuge in God’s love this week? Instead of striving, hiding, or numbing - how might I rest in his presence?
- What simple practice could help me notice and receive God’s love more fully? A few moments of silence, lighting a candle, praying slowly through Psalm 36, or offering gratitude - something small that creates space to dwell in his love.
