Love

For whatever reason this has been on my heart and mind lately and I wanted to share it.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:16). He did not create love and He isn't "made of" love but He IS love. God's Word is always teaching us about love. Love God, love our neighbor...my favorite set of verses on love, though, have always meant something else to me and probably to most people. They are read at wedding ceremonies and mostly looked on as how a husband and wife should love each other. Now, they very much can be used that way. But if God IS love and His love is perfect, whole and not based on performance or being loved in return--if He is true love--then these verses are talking about Him.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 state the following (NIV):

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Now since God IS love, let's replace love in that verse with God since they are synonomous and therefore, one in the same and let's really ponder on each part of the verse--these are God's attributes.

God is patient,

He most certainly is. Just look at how many times he forgave Israel and turned them back

onto the right path only to have to go and forgive them again. More personally, think

about how many times He has forgiven us and turned us back onto the right path only to have to go and forgive us again. :)

God is kind.

"I am the Lord, who exercises kindness..." (Jeremiah 9:24) In numerous other references,

the Bible talks of God's "everlasting kindness" towards us and it also tells us to express

kindness to others.

He does not envy,

He does not boast,

He is not proud.

He is not rude,

he is not self-seeking,

he is not easily angered,

he keeps no record of wrongs.

Psalm 103:12 says, "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our

transgressions from us." There's wonderful song by Casting Crowns called East to

West that speaks of this very things.

In Psalm 130:3-4, it says, "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sings, O Lord, who

could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared."

God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

He always protects,

always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres.

God never fails.

When you think on each statement in light of it talking about God, it really makes a huge impact. Sure, we can aspire to live these things in our relationships and we should. But none of us can ever live up to it. We are not perfect. We are not love. Somewhere along the way, in every relationship--no matter how good--one person fails another, one person gives up hope, one person breaks trust, both people keep record of the other person's wrongs, both people are rude and self-seeking and easily angered. Both people lost patience and kindness with each other. These are things that happen from time to time in every relationship--especially marriage relationships! It seems that we lack these things the most towards those we love the most. Why is this? God made us in His image and we have a huge capacity to love. But we are only flesh. We are not perfect. We make mistakes and we forget to love others as God loves us. We even feel some people (or groups of people) are unworthy of our love (or even unworthy of God's love). Do we forget that we are all God's children? Do we forget that we are all made in His image and that Christ died the same death for me as for everyone else? Do we forget that way down the line we are all brothers and sisters anyway and therefore, not all that different to begin with? Do we forget that those who have hurt us or who have hurt someone we love are just people who have probably been hurt somewhere else and that no matter what they've done God loves them and He tells us we should too? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighboar as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) Someone then asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29) Jesus then goes on to tell the story of the "Good Samaritan" in which a man was robbed and beaten and left to die and different people pass him by on the streets--a priest and a Levite--both people who should have had compassion enough to help this poor man. Then a Samaritan comes by--traditionally hated by Jews because they were unclean and "half breeds"--and THIS MAN helped the hurt man. He even went above and beyond what he needed to. Jesus said this is how we should live. No matter who needs our love, we are told to give it. There is not anyone who doesn't deserve it. There is no ethnicity that doesn't deserve the same love that God gives to us. There is no country that is less worthy to hear the Word and Love of God than we are.

"For God so loved the WORLD that he gave is one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God loves the whole world. Not just a select few.

Now...who's going to go show them love and tell them about God's love?

(The picture at the top of the blog is of a poster that Eileen and I made as part of her 2nd grade curriculum. In the middle is John 3:16 and all around are pictures of people from all over the world--past and present--that God died for. We cut these out of National Geographic magazines as well as Smithsonian Magazines. Not sure if you can see clearly enough or not, but there are some famous people on there as well, including Hilter, Castro and Obama. Believe it or now, God loves them as well and died for them if only they would choose Him.)