Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service, ELW 712
Devotion
Lord, whose love… We hear a lot about love in the Christian church today—how we are called to love others, and how great God’s love is for us. Sometimes it seems as though the thing that really, truly redeems us is nothing other than God's love itself. But let's pause that thought for a moment and take a look at this hymn, which describes what God's love actually is and what God's love actually did/does. For while God's love for us is wonderful, unfathomable and beyond our ability to compare, it is not ultimately what redeems us.
What that love did for us, bearing upon the cross the weight of human need and sin and despair, dying underneath that weight, AND THEN forgiving us for it! That is not just God's love; it is God's love-upon-the-cross. And that is the perfect deed of mercy which saves us all.
Prayer
Jesus Christ, your love-upon-the-cross is humbling. Bring me to my knees in adoration and confession, then raise me to my feet to thank and serve you. Amen.