In Touch - Feb. 8, 2007

In Touch Daily Devotional
by Dr. Charles Stanley

February 8, 2007 – The Expressions of God’s Love – Luke 15:11-24 

God’s unconditional love guarantees that He, like the Prodigal Son’s father, is always waiting to welcome back sinners (Luke 15:20). He accepts us no matter how dirty we are from sin or how disgraced from failure.

In The Five Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman identifies several common styles of communicating love. These same “languages” describe some of the ways God expresses His care for us:

God's first way of expression is through touch. Our heavenly Father reaches out to physically reassure us through the arms and hands of fellow believers.

Second, is quality time. We need intimacy with the Lord in order for our relationship to grow. He is always ready to spend time with us.

Third, God expresses Himself through service. Jesus said that He came to serve. (Mark 10:45) The Lord goes before us to protect, provide, and guide us onto the correct path for our lives.

Fourth, is gift giving. "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Each blessing in our lives is an expression of God’s care.

And the final way God expresses his love to us is through words of encouragement. The Scriptures are packed with the Lord’s inspiring and encouraging messages for believers. He also sends people into our lives to offer praise and godly counsel.

These are some of the ways God shows us His love. In turn, we must allow His love to flow through us to others. Ultimately, we'll discover that every person will respond to one or more of these methods of communicating God’s love.

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