"SORES!"

1 John 4:7-10             (KJV)
"7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

With all of the discussion going on about "LOVE" and how we should accept people "as they are", I received a "verse of the day" today from 1 John 4:8.  "He that loveth NOT knoweth not God; for God is love."  GOD is all about LOVE for all mankind. Verse 9 & 10 lets us know that GOD loved creation so much, HE sent "HIS only begotten SON into the world, that we might live through HIM."

The enemy is a counterfeit, and fraudulent in everything he does. HE tries to duplicate GOD'S perfection, but he always misses the mark. Whether wealth, power, social status, sexual abominations, or any other god, MAN CANNOT FILL THE VOID WHERE GOD IS MEANT TO BE.  Bitterness and discontent most often surround the "sore" left behind when the substitute for GOD is gone, just like a skin wound.

I am only trying to calmly explain the hurt and discomfort one may feel when a scab is knocked off a "sore".  When my kids were growing up, I did not sit around and wait for them to be in pain and start ridiculing them because they had a "sore".  On the contrary, I cared for them, at times I even wished I could hurt for them, until their "sore" healed.  Their "sore" most often came from their own behavior, or misbehavior.

I pray that I will notice the "sores" in my life, before they become infected, and more drastic measures (antibiotics, hospitalization, amputation, or death) are required to cure my "sore".  GOD brings peace, but the enemy desires to replace peace with a fraud.  I desire the peace of GOD in my life!