The Love Of God
By Cynthia
Bailey-Rug
1 John 4:8
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
God is
gracious!
And
kind… and loving… and thoughtful… and so much more!
In
my eleven years as a born again child of God, I have been blessed beyond
comprehension. I have been healed
of depression, self-hatred, back problems and more.
He has given me wisdom in dealing with difficult people.
He also has filled my life with good friends who share my faith, as well
as my likes and dislikes.
Yet recently, I received a deeper revelation on just how loving God truly
is.
My husband and I share an affection for classic cars.
Over the last twelve years my husband and I have been together, I told
him about one of the cars my Granddad had when I was quite young, and later gave
to my Dad when I was about four years old. I vividly remember riding in this
car, an avocado green 1969 Plymouth Fury 3, sitting in the front seat between my
parents, as Conway Twitty played on the stereo.
Dad sold this car in 1980, when I was nine years old.
I clearly remember that day, with me looking out the back window of my
mother's car, watching that Plymouth get smaller and smaller as the distance
between us grew...
Recently, I saw an avocado green 1969 Plymouth Fury 3.
It was in great condition, and looked just like my Dad's car.
On a whim, I left a note on the car, including my telephone number,
saying I was interested in buying the car if the owner was interested in
selling. I didn't really expect a
response, but I had to try. Three
days later, I got a call from the owner- he had been thinking of selling it for
about two weeks, and he accepted my offer.
I told him we were in the middle of refinancing our mortgage, and as soon
as that was done, I would buy the car. At
the time, the refinance was to be done within about a week.
It turned out, there were constant glitches, and the refinance took about
two more months! I prayed often,
asking God for favor with this man, because I was so afraid he would get tired
of waiting for me and sell the car to someone else.
It turned out, the seller understood my dilemma, as he had been through a
similar situation.
Once I was able to buy the car, my Dad couldn't wait to see it (guess
where I get my love for old cars?). Upon
inspecting the car, he realized this car wasn't a twin to his car- this WAS his
car! He recognized the ding in the back bumper from where a
motorcyclist rearended him in the late 1970's.
An odd little dot of black silicone on the chrome trim surrounding the
winshield that wouldn't come off for me when I washed the car the first time?
Dad said he'd had the same trouble- he never could get that off the trim
either! When I showed Dad the unusual keys to the car on my keyring,
he recognized them as the set of keys he had made not long after he had acquired
the car in 1975.
So now, here it is, six months since I first saw that Plymouth for the
first time in over twenty five years. That
beautiful 1969 Plymouth Fury is now sitting in my driveway, and I regularly
enjoy driving it around town, while my own Conway Twitty music collection plays
on the stereo.
My reason for telling you this story is so you, Dear Reader, will know
that God truly cares about you. Of
course, He cares about your Salvation, but also about your life here on earth.
He wants you to enjoy your life, and to walk in His love.
For me, getting this Plymouth proves that.
God is so thoughtful: not only has He provided me with things I need,
such as food, a lovely home, clothes, but He has given me something I always
loved, yet never expected to own, and didn't even realize I wanted.
Maybe an old car isn’t what you would consider proof of God’s love,
but I am certain you can find proof in your own life of God’s love and
thoughtfulness. Maybe for you, He
showed His love in the form of a new car that you were given unexpectedly, or
sent you someone to love when you never expected to get married, or maybe even
had a child after doctors had told you that you could never conceive. Ask God to
show you proof of His love in your life. Whatever
He shows you, I encourage you never to take those for granted!
They are ways our Heavenly Father, uses to show you He loves you!
Think about it- God dearly loves you!
The Creator of the universe loves you!