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Bear Hug Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 24–25; John 5:1–24 God is love. 1 John 4:16 1 John 4:13-19 “Bear” was a gift for my grandchild—a heaping helping of love contained in a giant stuffed animal frame. Baby D’s response? First, wonder. Next, an amazed awe. Then, a curiosity that nudged a daring exploration. He poked his pudgy finger at Bear’s nose, and when the Bear tumbled forward into his arms he responded with joy joy JOY! Baby D laid his head down on Bear’s fluffy chest and hugged him tightly. A dimpled smile spread across his cheeks as he burrowed deeply into Bear’s cushiony softness. The had no idea of Bear’s inability to truly love him. Innocently and naturally, he felt love from Bear and returned it with all his heart. In his first of three letters to early Christians, the apostle John boldly states that God Himself is love. “We know and rely on the love God has for us,” he writes. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). God loves. Not in the pillow of a pretend animal but rather with the outstretched arms of a real human body encasing a beating but breaking heart (John 3:16). Through Jesus, God communicated His extravagant and sacrificial love for us. John goes on, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we believe we’re loved, we love back. God’s real love makes it possible for us to love God and others—with all our hearts. Reflect & Pray What do you find is most amazing about God’s love for you? How will you reveal His love to others today? Dear God, help me to let You love me and then help me to love You back—with all my heart. 
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The most amazing thing I find is that He continues to love me, no matter how much I screw up and fail. Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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