Sitting opposite me was a... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us.
1 John 3:16.

Sitting opposite me was a 20-year-old man. We were engaged in a conversation about faith in God. So I offered him a Christian booklet. He refused it, annoyed. He would have nothing to do with such a God.

Cautiously, I tried to discover what he meant by that. "If God takes away a mother of four children, can He be a God of love? I was nine when my mother died." - "When my mother died, I was also nine," I replied. He immediately turned round and looked hard at me. "It was a long time ago," I continued, "but I do know what it is like. I can sympathise with you, having experienced the same thing myself when my mother died in 1948."

Now his attitude changed, and he listened attentively. "We often fail to understand God's ways, and He doesn't always give us an answer regarding His actions. But one thing is certain: God is love. He sent His Son into the world, because He loves us and wants us to be saved from hell and for heaven: Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross. That is the best proof that God is love. Jesus Christ is the only way to God."

We then spoke about baptism. "Baptism saves no-one," he said. So he had thought about that, and concluded that an external ritual without saving faith cannot alter man's fate for eternity. His bitterness had blinded him as to the love of God. He accepted a booklet on Psalm 23 with the title, "My Shepherd". When we took leave of each other, his handshake gave me the hope that our conversation had not been in vain.

"God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Today's reading: Isaiah 15:1-16:14 · Acts 25:13-27