9-18-2023

Today’s devotional thought is “Why Did God Create Man?” My text is 1 John 4:19 where we read these inspired words, “We love him, because he first loved us.” (KJV)

This is a short verse in the Bible, but it says so much! I remember reading about a Sunday School teacher who asked his class this question, “Why did God create man?” A little girl raised her hand to answer the question and responded, “I know, sir. God made the rocks and things like that, but they could not love Him. God made all of the animals, but they could not love Him. Then God created man, because man could love Him!” This little girl knew a lot about the God of Heaven! The apostle John went on to pen these words in vs. 16, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (KJV)

The God of Heaven loves man, the being whom He created in His own image and made a living soul. So deep is that love that, even after man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God still loved mankind so much that God sent His Son into this world to pay for all of his sin and die in his place on the cross. The love of God for man is absolutely without doubt, but the question is, “Do we love God in return?” The Word of God places responsibility upon man and urges him to come to God for salvation and after being born again, those who have been redeemed are to be obedient to the greatest commandment in the Word of God, as we see in Matthew 22:37, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (KJV) The obedience to obey this command should be motivated by love for our Savior and Creator. There can be no doubt that Jesus Christ loves you, dear friend, and He longs for your salvation so that you may love Him in return. 

Pastor Joey Durham