Love is…
After four years of raising my mini-me, God blessed me with
another boy! Pray for my wife now. There is a lot of testosterone and unbridled
flatulence. Ha!
Although the boys are in the majority, she still runs
things.
Somehow I figured that since I was such a pro at raising the
first child, the second would be a cakewalk.
Not so much.
One evening, the baby was giving the fat lady at the opera a
run for her money. Despite my best efforts, I could not get the curtain to
close and that ear-piercing cry to end. Then, I relaxed, got up from the couch,
and held him closer to me while lapping our living room.
It worked! It was as if all he needed was to be held more
securely and carried from his place of discomfort.
Love is easy to say yet difficult to define. Trying to hold
an absolute definition is challenging. It’s like grabbing a fist full of sand
and attempting to not lose a granule.
Love is worth the effort.
There is a story of a young boy that asked his father, “Is
it more beneficial to love or to be loved?” The father thought for a second
then replied, “Ask a bird.” The boy gave his dad a bewildered look. The dad added,
“Ask the bird, which of its wings is more beneficial.”
1 John 4:7-12 The Message (MSG)
God Is Love
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other
since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a
relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first
thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love.
This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so
we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not
that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a
sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our
relationship with God.
11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we
certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love
one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in
us—perfect love!
As we near the end of the month dedicated to love…here are
my thoughts:
1.
Love is action
In love, we should
always work to refine and build on what we love. Whether your love is for an
individual or an activity, if you love it, you will constantly work on it. It likes a ship. Ships are made to move and
take you places. If your relationSHIP, friendSHIP, companionSHIP, has stagnated
– you may need to abandon ship or at least take a second look at the propeller.
What is driving your love?
2.
Love is honesty
Feelings fade… If you can love
them or it when no one else notices, you probably have a good thing going.
3.
Love is obedience
There are rules to love. Those
rules come with examples of how to love properly.
1 John 4:19 New Living Translation (NLT)
1 John 4:19 New Living Translation (NLT)
19 We love each other[a] because
he loved us first.
God will not ask you to do MORE
for someone else than He has done for YOU!
4.
Love is sacrifice.
God gave His son. Jesus gave His
Life. What are you willing to give? Great Love requires great work. We must be
able to give as much as we want to receive.
GOD IS LOVE!
Remember that God loves you in any state that you are in.
His love is not predicated on your actions. You had him before you could say
hello. Nevertheless, it is your responsibility to cultivate that love. Spend
time with Him. Learn how to love through Him. Then, like jumper cables, connect
Him to what matters in your life and turn the key!
#loverocks
