God’s Love and our Service for Him
As Emerald Youth staff, we are currently reading Jim Branch’s devotional book, “Being with Jesus.”
In chapter five, we learn about how our individual views of God impact our daily lives. Branch says this:
A.W. Tozer once said that what comes into our minds when we think about God may be the most important thing about us.
Our image of God should come from the life of Christ.
When Jesus asks Peter, his disciple, who he is, Peter responds, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Branch shares that, in effect, Peter is saying:
You are the One we have been waiting for and watching for and hoping for. You are the One, sent from God to deliver us from sin and oppression and bondage. You are God in the flesh!
Peter knows that a life with Jesus offers freedom and salvation from sins, and we want to deliver that message to the children that we serve in the heart of Knoxville.
Who we believe God is, and what we believe his character to be, is reflected in how we love and serve others in our city.
As Emerald Youth staff, we believe it is our calling to love and serve Knoxville’s young people, and we want to do that well, no matter what our day-to-day looks like.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Because we know that God is love, this shows so much about who He is and how He loves us.
No matter the uncertainty we face, I hope that today – and in the days to come – you walk in this truth!
~Brooke VanderSteeg
Communications Coordinator, Emerald Youth Foundation