”…These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13
There are probably more books, movies and songs onthe subject of love than anything else. The Apostle Paul and the Beatles agree, ‘All you need is love.’ But for all the materials on love, there is much confusion on the topic. One of the main reasons for this is the great chasm between some people’s words and their actions. Love is easy to say, yet hard to fulfill. As a result, many people are jaded over it and believe they will never find true love. But there is true love for us - it is through Jesus that…
LOVE IS GROWN…
”…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38
For love to grow in our hearts, we must plant ourselves in the hands of God. Nobody, moms included, loves us like the Lord does, and nobody ever will. As we grow in this knowledge, we will begin to trust God’s love more and more, which is the foundation of any relationship. This trust in God will bring out the best in us, while at the same time deleting the worst from us - that being self-hatred and self-condemnation. God’s love replaces these with mercy and grace, causing us to actually start to love ourselves. This is essential, because we cannot love people if we do not understand His love for us. Love flows from love.
…THEN LOVE IS SHOWN.
”…The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
Love changes our hearts, which alters our perspective. So when bad things occur, we know God still loves us and isn’t mad at us or wants us out of His Kingdom. This reality changes the way we react to the people in our lives. Our fears, hurts and the anger that stems from them do not plague our relationships. Instead we remain calm and at peace. This will cause people to relax in our presence because they don’t fear being harmed - ‘love does no harm to a neighbor.’ (Romans 13:10). Imagine the love we can show our ‘loved ones’ when our trust in God’s love is secure. God loves us, so we love ourselves and then each other.
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