Faith and Love
There are volumes and volumes that could be written on this subject. Love is the very essence of who we are. Here are just a few thoughts about love to ponder...Matthew 22:36-40
36 Master which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Because love is the great commandment, it should be at the center of everything we do -- it should be the very core of who we are. We should spend all our time making love a habit and increasing our ability to love.
We often think of love and hate as opposites. The kind of love that can turn to hate is conditional and is based in pride. True love is unconditional and cannot turn to hate because of its pure motive and forgiving nature. True love grows into greater love, and increases our capacity to love. As our capacity to love grows and our love becomes more unconditional, we experience inner joy.
In the verses above, Jesus teaches us about 3 different types of love. I once had a teacher who laid it out this way:
J - Jesus/God
O - Others
Y - You
Joy comes as we develop unconditional love for God, for others, and for ourselves!
Love for God
"If ye love me, keep my commandments." ~John 14:15
How do we show our love for God? We keep his commandments! We follow Him. We try to be more like Him. We get rid of anything ungodly that is in our lives!
Love for Others
How do we show our love for others? We serve them! We find ways to help lighten their load!
It's easy to love those who love us first, but Jesus also taught us to love our enemies:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;" ~Matthew 5:44
"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."
~Swedish Proverb
Is there someone you are having a difficult time loving? Try this experiment:
1. Mentally picture the person
2. Think a kind thought about them
3. Pray for them
4. Repeat for at least 30 days
Love for Self
I have found that the more loving and accepting I am of myself, the more capacity I have to love and accept others!
"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love
and affection." ~Buddha
Where Do I Get This Love?
You pray to God with all energy of heart to be filled with this love! All energy of heart means there is no room for anything negative - no fear, no jealousy, no frustration, no anger!
Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch Christian whose family helped hide Jews from the Nazis. They were discovered and she and her sister, Betsie, became prisoners of war. (I highly, highly recommend her book "The Hiding Place.") Her sister Betsie died while a prisoner of war, and Corrie was released in December 1944 because of a clerical error (all the women her age were killed the following week). After the war she traveled to 60 different countries preaching the message that God forgives. In Germany in 1947 she was talking to a group of people, and afterwards a man approached her. She immediately recognized him as one of her captors while she was a prisoner of war. He did not recognize her, but admitted to her that he had been a guard at Ravensbruck (where she had been held captive), but since the war had become a Christian. He held his hand out to her and this is what happened in her own words:
“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former
prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then”
I love this example of how to love those who are difficult to love! We can't do it on our own! But if we will do what we can (for her it was lifting her hand), then God will supply the rest!!! He not only gives us the command to love, but he also gives us the love itself that we need! We need to do what we can, pray to him with all the energy of our heart, and then trust that he will provide the very love we need!
It's easy to love someone who loves us, but it's godly to love someone who doesn't love us in return!
We often think of love and hate as opposites. The kind of love that can turn to hate is conditional and is based in pride. True love is unconditional and cannot turn to hate because of its pure motive and forgiving nature. True love grows into greater love, and increases our capacity to love. As our capacity to love grows and our love becomes more unconditional, we experience inner joy.
In the verses above, Jesus teaches us about 3 different types of love. I once had a teacher who laid it out this way:
J - Jesus/God
O - Others
Y - You
Joy comes as we develop unconditional love for God, for others, and for ourselves!
Love for God
"If ye love me, keep my commandments." ~John 14:15
How do we show our love for God? We keep his commandments! We follow Him. We try to be more like Him. We get rid of anything ungodly that is in our lives!
Love for Others
How do we show our love for others? We serve them! We find ways to help lighten their load!
"Life is like a game of tennis. The player who serves
well seldom loses."
~Author Unknown
It's easy to love those who love us first, but Jesus also taught us to love our enemies:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;" ~Matthew 5:44
"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."
~Swedish Proverb
Is there someone you are having a difficult time loving? Try this experiment:
1. Mentally picture the person
2. Think a kind thought about them
3. Pray for them
4. Repeat for at least 30 days
Love for Self
I have found that the more loving and accepting I am of myself, the more capacity I have to love and accept others!
"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love
and affection." ~Buddha
Where Do I Get This Love?
You pray to God with all energy of heart to be filled with this love! All energy of heart means there is no room for anything negative - no fear, no jealousy, no frustration, no anger!
Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch Christian whose family helped hide Jews from the Nazis. They were discovered and she and her sister, Betsie, became prisoners of war. (I highly, highly recommend her book "The Hiding Place.") Her sister Betsie died while a prisoner of war, and Corrie was released in December 1944 because of a clerical error (all the women her age were killed the following week). After the war she traveled to 60 different countries preaching the message that God forgives. In Germany in 1947 she was talking to a group of people, and afterwards a man approached her. She immediately recognized him as one of her captors while she was a prisoner of war. He did not recognize her, but admitted to her that he had been a guard at Ravensbruck (where she had been held captive), but since the war had become a Christian. He held his hand out to her and this is what happened in her own words:
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to
me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
“For I had to do it—I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition:
that we forgive those who have injured us. ‘If you do not forgive men their trespasses,’
Jesus says, ‘neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’
“...I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an
emotion—I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function
regardless of the temperature of the heart. ‘… Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my
hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’
“And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me.
And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced
down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to
flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
“ ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’
prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then”
I love this example of how to love those who are difficult to love! We can't do it on our own! But if we will do what we can (for her it was lifting her hand), then God will supply the rest!!! He not only gives us the command to love, but he also gives us the love itself that we need! We need to do what we can, pray to him with all the energy of our heart, and then trust that he will provide the very love we need!
It's easy to love someone who loves us, but it's godly to love someone who doesn't love us in return!
Daily Challenge: Every day for 30 days in a row,
I want you to say the following out loud at least 10 times each day!!!
Be sure to say it cheerfully and enthusiastically!
This scripture is found in Philippians 4:13:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
You've now completed this challenge 17 days in a row!
Be sure to congratulate yourself for a job well done!
You've now completed this challenge 17 days in a row!
Be sure to congratulate yourself for a job well done!
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