1 John 4:13-21

1 John 4:13-21 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Today is May 1 -- we press forward into spring, with grass continuing to grow and flowers in bloom and, as I'm sure many are aware pollen filling the air, signalling renewal and the promises of spring.  New life is in the air, and Easter continues to drive us forward in hope. 
  Today is May 1 -- whatever happened in your life last month is history.  Maybe it was a great month, and this is the opportunity to continue the momentum gained.  Maybe it was a terrible month -- well, it's history, and today is a chance to start anew.  Maybe you strayed far from who and how you'd like to be.  It's a new day, and God has loved you first.
  No matter who you are, and no matter where you are in life, God has loved you first.  God is always the first mover -- we live in response to God.  God reaches out to you in love and grace.
  So join me in starting anew this month.  Every day, let's remind one another that God loves us first, before we could think or move or talk or run.  God loves us, and invites us to an eternal kingdom that is defined by love.  Whatever negative forces exist in the world, in your life, will fade away one day, and there will be grace, nothing but grace.  Whatever is dragging you down, causing you to despair, causing you to look at yourself in a negative light -- that will die, and you will live in resurrection.  Whatever oppresses us, drives us apart, separates us -- it'll be defeated.  Love will cast out fear.  So let us remind one another that our fear will perish and that love will persist.  God loves us, and may we seek to define ourselves in the light of that love.