He First Loved Us

by Hazel Holland

Title

He First Loved Us

Artist

Hazel Holland

Medium

Painting - Watercolor & Pastel

Description

" We love Him because He first loved us". 1 John 4:1.

After realizing the struggles that many of us face when it comes to trusting our Abba--our Daddy, I wanted to paint a picture that would speak to every heart. Because of broken relationships, hurtful childhoods, and the numerous disappointments of life, a lot of us have learned to protect ourselves from further hurt by guarding our hearts so as to shield ourselves from really experiencing intimacy with God.

But He is calling us to come to Him like a little child... He is calling us to get in touch with that child-like part of us that is spontaneous and carefree, and that is not afraid to embrace life because we know that our lives our safely hidden in God. We can risk reaching out to love others unconditionally because He first loved us!

After I painted the child's hand reaching up to God, and God's hand reaching down to grasp the child's, I was impressed to paint city tenement buildings in the background. The message I was receiving from Him is that behind those brick and stone walls are children that He is calling to Himself...little children as well as adult children. They all need to know who Jesus is, and that God is pouring out His Spirit so that they can be drawn to Him. They all need to know that He knows them by name, and is eager and willing and wanting to embrace them with His strong arms of love and draw them into His heart.

Can you hear the cry of the Father's heart as He calls out to us to bring His lost children home? Each one is precious and chosen and known by Him. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us God's heart of agape love for those He is calling to Himself. We are called to be His ministers of reconciliation as we partner with God and with one another to bring His beloved children home.

"Father, thank You, that You reached down and took hold of our hand before we ever reached out to you! Now we are forever gratefully Yours." ♥

* Top Finisher in "My Religion" contest 4/13/18

Uploaded

October 17th, 2016

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