Do you know what true love is?
What does it look like?
How does it feel?
Where is it?
When I was a child I thought I knew all about love. I thought it was something that zapped you one day and it would last forever. I believed in fairy tale love. Where the beautiful girl or handsome boy would find their one true love and live happily ever after.
When I was a teen I thought I knew nothing about love. I had been through several losses. My Grandmother had passed and I had not been allowed to grieve and say goodbye. My parents did not love each other anymore. We moved more than once. I thought there was really no such thing as love. It was an elusive feeling that did not mean anything real.
When I was a young adult I thought I had rediscovered the love I knew as a child. I was swept off my feet by a young man. He wanted me. He loved me. He said this love was forever. It was not.
I discovered the love a mother has for her child. This child who grew inside of me was special. This is real love.
Then the child started to become her own person. She has a will of her own. She is a child and does not know how her words and actions affect others. She is self centered.
I discovered love is a choice. I choose to love my child. I choose to love my husband. I choose to love others. I choose to love myself.
I now believe love is true only if from God.
Can I love enough to give my own child?
I can give my own life much easier than that of my child...yet God gave His only child. I have four children and I do not think I could freely give up the life of any of them.
God so Loved... He so loved us that he gave His only son so that we might be saved.
Do you get that? God so Loved.
What can we do to show the world God's love?
Should the love we have for people be different than the love the world has for people?
I see people who do not follow Christ show love for others. They help the needy. They have compassion for orphans.They donate money to the sick. They send children to college. The come together in times of tragedy. They stand against evil careful to name the evil and protect the innocent. The innocent who may have characteristics or belief systems of those who carry out evil..
How much more should we who profess love of Christ help the needy, show compassion for orphans, use our money for others? We are to take care of widows and orphans. This is a commandment. We are stewards of the things of earth. This is a gift from God. He trusts us with stuff. He desires that we show His love to people. All people. People who we know. People we don't know. People we like. People we don't like. People like us. People that are not like us. Big sinners, little sinners, outward sinners, inward secret sinners...humans.
We need to show our love better. We need to guard our hearts against prejudices. We need to be a humble not a prideful people.
How can we be more loving? How can we feel this kind of love for others? Is it even really possible?
It is possible. It can be real. It can be something you feel deep inside of your heart.
It does not come naturally. It is not the "normal" for humanity.
We can have love for people. It takes a little work for some and a lot of work for most. Once you have it you have to keep it. It is easy to lose. We are fragile. We are prideful. We get hurt by people and circumstances.
There are some ways to develop a true and genuine love for people.
1. Become more in love with Christ. Read the Word daily. The more you are in the Word of God the more you desire Him. The more you love God the more your heart will love people. Remember God so loved...
2. Develop empathy. Put yourself in another's position. Stop before making a judgement based on appearances. What do you see? Do you see someone who needs God? Do you feel compassion for their needs? Do you feel sorrow for the lost? Do you long for God to wait a little longer so more can come to know Him?
3. Allow Grace. Give the benefit of the doubt. I'm not saying let people harm you but cut others some slack. Let God convict. It's not my job to point out every flaw in another person. Most of us do that enough to ourselves. Example - I know I'm overweight, you don't need to tell me, I can look in the mirror. Love covers. Love forgives.
Allow grace to flood your own mind and heart. You are loved. You do deserve love. You are favored by God. God so loved...
4. Pray. Pray that you will be a light to the world. Pray for your enemies. Pray for those who have harmed you. Pray for the lost. The more you pray for others the more you will come to love them.
5. Patience. A real genuine love for others will take time. You have a past of hurts and prejudices to overcome. You have to surrender these things before genuine love will be able to take root. Refer to number 3 - Grace. You may not wake up one day and feel love in your heart. It may be a gradual process, a daily step by step.
6. Practice. Practice love. The more you put love into action the more it will become your default.
Can you imagine this world if more Christians showed love? How many more would come to know Christ? How many lives would be touched? Think about the lives that would receive comfort in times of need or trouble. Let's reach the world. Let light shine in the darkness. Love really is the answer. We can all know true love.
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