"I am the disciple Jesus loves!”

A common theme with me is laughter when I encounter serious subjects. I immediately try to find something funny in things that are so very obviously not funny. Once I laugh, then I can get down to the nitty gritty, roll up my sleeves and get to work. This doesn't always sit well with people, but it is my way of surviving, at least it has been for these past 54 years.

So, I giggle when I think of King David and how much God obviously loves David, or how John describes himself as the disciple Jesus loves - I smile and inside I am sad, because I WANT TO BE THE FAVORITE! :)

Well, I just came across a devotional that makes my heart dance because I am so going to adopt this advice! 

It is from Our Daily Bread:

READ: Romans 8:31-39

Keep yourselves in the love of God. —Jude 1:21

 

On cold days, our old dog moves around the yard, finding a sunny spot to stretch out on the grass to keep herself in the warmth of the sun.

This reminds me that we must “keep” ourselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21). That doesn’t mean we have to act in some special way to make God love us (although our desire is to please Him). Because we are His children we’re loved no matter what we do or fail to do. It means instead that we should think about His love and bask in its radiance and warmth all day long.

“[Nothing] shall be able to separate us from the love of God” (Rom. 8:39). He loved us before we were born, and He loves us now. This is our identity in Christ; it is who we are—God’s beloved children. That’s something to think about throughout the day.

Five times in John’s gospel he described himself as the disciple Jesus loved (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7,20). Jesus loved His other disciples too, but John reveled in the fact that Jesus loved him! We can adopt John’s theme—“I am the disciple Jesus loves!”—and repeat it to ourselves all day long. Or we can sing that familiar children’s song in our hearts, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” As we carry that truth with us throughout the day, we’ll bask in the warmth of His love! —David Roper

I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see—
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me. —Bliss

God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

I am the disciple Jesus loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!