Devotion: Not Just Another Love Story

by Sherma Webbe Clarke | @sdwc8181 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) 

I received three red dresses this past Christmas in a variety of shades and styles. Is red my favorite color? No. Did I thank the giver sincerely each time I opened a box and pulled out another red dress? Yes. Will I try to wear each dress in appreciation of his gifts? Yes.

Starting on Valentine’s Day.

After all of the red that surrounds the Christmas season, I need a break. Time to settle back into my usual colors and clothes. But as Valentine’s Day approaches, I begin to think about red again. And love. I open my Bible and mine for stories of love.

1. John 3:16 

One of the first verses I learned as a child was John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This verse acts as a synopsis of what I know about God, from creation to end-time events. This verse contains hope, a promise, and a future. The plan of salvation is the ultimate gift to a fallen race of people from a loving Father. During a visit to Jerusalem, I walked in the footsteps of Jesus when he cloaked himself in humanity. What caused the Lamb of God to leave the throne room of heaven to live a life of poverty in a sin-sick world? Love.

2. 1 Corinthians 13 

When I was a young adult (oh, so long ago!), it was almost expected to include a reading of 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings. The Love Chapter. The happy couple would look into each other’s eyes as the characteristics of love were declared. My husband once gave me a small pamphlet that contained this passage of scripture in an abundance of versions. Each version held a different tone, from Old English language to colloquial, but the message remained the same. Love never fails. Now as an older adult, I understand that the theme of this chapter transcends romantic or marital love. The love of God should flow through us and drench every area of our lives. In our ministry positions, demonstrate a loving spirit. At the workplace, be kind. When faced with an obstacle, exercise wisdom. God’s love is the answer to the complexities and is the source of joys in our lives.

3. Luke 15:3-32 

Jesus, the Master Storyteller, talked about God’s love in short stories called parables. The Bible says ‘parable’; these days we might say ‘flash fiction’. Of the three parables in Luke 15, the relationship between the wandering son and hopeful father is the most poignant to me. The imagery in this story is compelling and vivid. I imagine a stubborn boy walking away from his heartbroken father. I picture the split screen of an empty, self-indulgent lifestyle versus the stability of home. And when the repentant young man finally returns home, he experiences quick forgiveness and is restored to his former position. Our patient, long-suffering Father waits for us to come to our senses and turn or return to Him. And when we do, He wraps us in His righteousness and calls us His own.

4. Psalm 23 

Because the word love does not appear in the twenty-third Psalm, the chapter is an effective example of showing, not telling. David set his words to music and many of us have the lyrics committed to memory. He depicts God as a shepherd, a leader, a comforter, a protector, and a provider.

While occasions like Valentine’s Day put the focus on temporary gifts such as flowers, chocolates, and romantic dinners, the love language of the Bible appeals to us on a deeper level. Not just for a day or a season, but eternity.

About Sherma . . . 

Sherma Webbe Clarke is a contemporary fiction writer and a 2017 ACFW First Impressions Finalist. Her inspirational writing has been included in Christian devotional books: Grace Notes and Blessed. She loves to take her husband by the hand to explore nearby and far-flung areas of the globe. This wanderlust has its perks. She credits many of her story ideas to these adventures. Quiet, early-morning walks along the railroad trails on her home island of Bermuda provide inspiration when she is homebound.

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DEVOTION: Ordinary People, Extra-ordinary Results ~ by Shirley Corder.

Moses was born under a death threat. Pharaoh had ordered the death of all male baby boys born to Israeli women. His mother, an ordinary Jewish woman who loved her new baby and trusted God, used ordinary tools to weave a tiny watertight basket. She placed her beloved baby in that vessel and lowered it into the River Nile. We know the results. He was rescued by Pharaoh's princess, and brought up by his own mother for the first three formative years. One day God used Moses to lead the Israeli people out of Egypt toward the Promised Land. An ordinary woman performed an ordinary task which produced an extra-ordinary result.

God planned to wipe humanity from the face of the earth, but he chose Noah to continue the human race. Noah, an ordinary but righteous man, obeyed God and built an ocean-going ship such as was never seen before. He used ordinary tools and skills he had obviously developed through his ordinary work on earth. The result? An extra-ordinary vessel that survived the biggest storm the earth has ever seen. And the human race and all the animal and bird species of the world were saved from extinction. An ordinary man, using ordinary tools, performed an extra-ordinary task.

The Scriptures are full of such stories. David, the ordinary young shepherd, who took up five ordinary pebbles, and killed an extra-ordinary giant. Rahab, an ordinary Canaanite woman, who hid ordinary Israeli spies in an ordinary way, and thus saved not only her family but brought herself into salvation and the extra-ordinary line of Jesus Christ. 

Fishermen, tax-collectors, religious leaders, men blind from birth, lepers, prostitutes . . . ordinary people. When they turned their lives over to Jesus, they used ordinary tools such as dinner parties, fishing boats, pens or quills and scrolls, walks on the dusty Palestine roads and chats along the way, to bring about extra-ordinary results in the lives of those with whom they came into contact.

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, an ordinary Albanian-born woman suffered from the ordinary disease of tuberculosis when she received a call to follow God. She went on to achieve many extra-ordinary results under the name of Mother Teresa.

William Franklin (Billy) Graham was born into an ordinary Scottish family in Carolina. He had an ordinary education and was nearly expelled from Bible College. He suffered from hydrocephalus, pneumonia, broken hips, and prostate cancer.Yet he has used his ordinary speaking ability with extra-ordinary results, to become indisputably the greatest evangelist the world has ever known.

Please note none of these were born with the expectations of being extra-ordinary. They were all ordinary people. Like you and I.

I am not worthy of being added to this list of remarkable people but I include this story to show it is not only the "greats" of our world that God can use. I am a very ordinary person. I wrote a very ordinary book using an ordinary computer. Yet I keep hearing from people who write to tell me about the extra-ordinary blessings they have experiences through reading the words of Strength Renewed. I know there are countless authors who have similar stories to tell.  

Are you an ordinary person? 

Oh good. Then you no doubt have ordinary tools and skills. Ask God today to show you which tools He wants you to use and what task He wants you to tackle. Then prepare to see some extra-ordinary results! And be sure to write and tell me about them.   

Do you have an extra-ordinary story to share with us? Please give us a brief summary below. We'd love to rejoice with you.  

SHIRLEY CORDER lives an ordinary life on the coast of South Africa with her husband. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer continues to bring about extra-ordinary results for readers in the cancer valley. 

Please visit Shirley through ShirleyCorder.com, where she encourages writers, or at  RiseAndSoar.com, where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or FaceBook.