Love Real People

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever who loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:19-21 (NIV)

Love begins with Christ. He loved us first, when there was no compelling reason to do so. We were his enemies, yet, he chose to love us by dying on the cross in our place, taking away our sin and placing us in his family. 

Let's get real here. It's easy to say you are a Christian and that you love everyone. What's difficult is when someone acts in a very unloving way toward you and you must respond in some way. I think, sometimes, that the closer the person is to you the harder it may be to respond in love. If a random person says something hurtful to me I can blow it off, but if my wife does, then I can be a little defensive. (And of course this goes the other way too.) 

The lesson is that loving each other in Christ is not necessarily easy.  Most of the time we need to sit down before the throne of grace and ask for grace. We need to remember that he first loved us and he forgives us, multiple times, on a daily basis! If you think you are easy to deal with, you probably aren't. 

I am a sinner saved by grace. I may accidentally step on someones toes or I may purposely step on someones toes, but I will step on toes. We all will. Humility, knowing who I am in Christ, should lead me to remember that because Christ first love me, I should love whoever God puts in my path.

Father, help us to love others just like Christ loved and loves us. Praise be to you in us today!

Know That You Know God

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

1 John 4:7-9 (NIV)

Lately people like to make a heart with two hands. Even soccer/futbol players did it after they scored a goal at the World Cup. As a guy I find it amusing that women love to post stuff about love. Love is this love is that. Love, to many people is a super strong urge or emotion (warm fuzzy) that compels them to attach themselves emotionally to another person and look to them for emotional fulfillment. 

I love my wife and have pretty strong emotions for her. But, if I only loved her when I felt like it our marriage would of failed a long time ago. I learned pretty quickly that love was about choice. Love is giving when I don't particularly feel like. If you know God and know his love you understand the depths of love, true love, what the Bible calls agape love. It is beyond friendship. It is beyond erotic physical love. It is love by choice, love by action. 

My wife kind of got upset with me one time because she noticed that I had written down on my planner to send her a note or buy her a little gift to let her know I loved her. I know she wanted spontaneous but, knowing that spontaneous doesn't do well with busy I chose to make sure I did something to love her. Let me tell you, sometimes the thought doesn't count, only an action will do. You know, actions speak louder than words. 

If we know God, says John, we love. If you don't love, you don't know God. We know what love is like because the love that God has for us was demonstrated by sending his only Son into the world that we might live through him. Get it? Love is giving. Love is action, serving others. 

Father, help us to love not just in word but in our actions. Open our understanding see the opportunities to love you place before us today.  Praise be to you in us today!