“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” ELW 631 and LBW 315
1 Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav’n, to earth come down!
Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter ev’ry trembling heart.
2 Breathe, oh, breathe thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast;
let us all in thee inherit;
Let us find thy promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
end of faith, as its beginning,
set our hearts at liberty.
3 Come, Almighty, to deliver;
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
4 Finish then thy new creation,
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee!
Changed from glory into glory,
till in heav’n we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love and praise!
Devotion
A few years ago the acronym “WWJD” (What would Jesus do?) was popular. The idea was to figure out what Jesus might do in any given situation and then act accordingly.
I always thought it missed the point a bit. Perhaps a better question would be “What would Jesus have us do?” or “What does Jesus teach?”
Jesus’ answer to such questions always centered on love. The beautiful words of the hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” describe the kind of love that Jesus talked about. This love is given to us by a gracious and compassionate God. But Jesus takes it one step further as we, too, are called to love. So perhaps a better question yet is “How can I live my life to show the love that Jesus has for us all?”
Prayer
Loving and compassionate God, we are humbled by your enormous love for us, which we know we don’t deserve. Give us hearts that embrace your love for us so that we may follow your commandments and serve others joyfully. Lord, we pray: inspire us to be the loving people that you created us to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.