Love - We Have it All Wrong
Love – We Have it All Wrong
Since Bible school days, we have been saying God is love. It is who He is and it is what He does. We read in Genesis that God spoke the world into being. He spoke trees, oceans, animals into being - but He personally, carefully, lovingly formed man and woman with his hands. He made us in His image and He breathed His breath of life into us.
As we read the Bible, we find story after story of God loving us, pursuing us, and of man messing it up again and again. Then, once again God pursues us. From the beginning of time until right this minute, God is loving us and drawing us to Him and we are… what? What are you doing? Are you soaking up His love, resting in His love, living loved every day, so full of His love that you are spreading it around like wildfire? Or… not so much?
We can almost quote words from the love chapter and I paraphrase, Love is patient, kind; does not envy; does not parade itself; is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. The Bible tells us this is agape love - a love that is based on the choice of the one who loves and not on the worthiness of the one who is loved. It is selfless and expects nothing in return.
This is how God loves us. His word tells us He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3); with an unconditional love (Romans 5:8); and a steadfast love (Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 86:15).
Jesus told us the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. How are we doing with that? Today is a good day to fall in love with Jesus again, to rekindle that relationship, to recommit our life and to start spending the time needed with Him to take our relationship to a place of deep intimacy. It is the most important thing we can do and it will change everything in our life. It is not enough to have head knowledge – let it permeate your heart. You don’t need Jesus plus a man, Jesus plus your mom, Jesus plus obedient children. Jesus is everything you have ever wanted and everything you will ever need. He is the only one who can truly satisfy and who can meet all your needs. He is enough. He is everything!
We can live LOVED!
Then Jesus said there was a second commandment and it is to love your neighbor as yourself. God demonstrated how we are to love others, but…
Where does it say to judge others and determine if they are worthy of our love?
Where in the Bible does it talk about getting to know someone before we decide if we love them? They need to earn our love, right?
What does it say about cutting off our love when our expectations are unmet?
Hmmmm….. it doesn’t say that. We have it all wrong.
Let’s look at what it does say. Here is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 from The Message:
“Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.”
Then in verse 13, we read, we have three things to do “Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.”
Love Extravagantly. It is what we are to do. It is what we are to become. We can love others extravagantly because we are loved extravagantly. We have received it – so we can give it.
How would your life change if you woke up every day, allowed God’s extravagant love to fill you and then poured it out on everyone you encountered?
A Message from Pam:
During February, we are talking about "Love" and whether it is a right or a responsibility.
Join us on the Master What Matters Facebook page Thursday night, 2/22 at 7:30 p.m. for our Gathering of Girlfriends. We will have a candid and real conversation about love and the struggle of living loved and loving others well.
I pray these blog posts, graphics, t-shirts and tools encourage you to embrace the love of your heavenly Father and feel inspired to love others well. I hope you are compelled to get into God's Word and discover all the things He says about how He loves you and how you are to love. I am praying that you will feel loved and take a step closer to intimacy with Jesus and that that intimacy would compel you to love others well. Love as you are loved.
You are invited to visit the Marketplace where you will find the book - Saved by Grace, Now What? and graphic tees, connect with Master What Matters via our Facebook page, Facebook group, Instagram, and subscribe to us on YouTube (just look for the Master What Matters logo).
Invite your friends! Let's travel this journey together and get to know Jesus more and more!
I love you!!!!