“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not
perish, but have eternal life.
Love does. It just does. Life is that simple. When you love, you do something about your
life and the lives of the people around you.
Love reaches out and does something when the struggle is real.
What happens when the crisis comes in to your life? Often we turn to the things or better yet to the
people that give us the most strength, and those ties ought to be the ones that
make us stronger. There are people we
have known for a long time that make us stronger. Why is it we often go to those who really
aren’t for us?
The pain of the world is always heavy on my heart. You know that. The plight of our homeless friends is one I
will continue to share and seek to help with.
I am often saddened by the devastation of addiction. It tears lives apart, it ruins families, and
it does damage to every thing in it’s path.
That is why we have to go to what gives us strength.
Love goes beyond the normal or natural to make a difference. Love thinks outside of the box. Love steps in when everyone steps out. Love does something when the world says do
nothing.
What is it like when there is an absence of love? It is a time of pain and destruction. Often that is the place or the time when we
turn inward rather than to others. This
is seen in depression, in destructive behaviors and in giving all away for
nothing. When love is not present, trouble,
big trouble is close by. That is when we
need love.
Nehemiah is one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible. It was a time when God’s people had an
absence of love, and that led them to believe an absence of love. But Nehemiah wouldn’t stand for it.
In Nehemiah chapter 2 we find something called a “the crisis of
believe”. It is the time when you learn
what the problem is and do something about it.
We have been there. We have been
at the place where we knew there was a problem, and we did nothing. Right?
Then there were or are times when we see the difficulties and it is obvious
that we can and must do something.
Nehemiah showed those around him, his partners and his opponents, how to
stand firm and confident on what God put on His heart. It is when we waver that we lead others to
waver. The people related to us,
friends, family or others, are impacted by our responses and choices.
Relationships matter. In fact
that is where love is needed the most and often found the least. We’d rather our feelings be ok or our
pleasures be met than to really love people the way God does.
Relationships are tough. They
have to be worked at. God’s kind of love
is not based on conditions and is selfless.
That love seeks the best for others because it seeks what it needs. That kind of love is not easy. Not easy to give. How do we really show others we love them?
God began the process. He loved
us first. He will love us always. His love goes beyond our feelings, and it is
a fact. His LOVE DOES more than we will
ever know.
God is for you too. He is seeking
you. His desire is to show you the best
He has and to invite you to enjoy it too.
No, it is not always easy, life that is.
But God’s best for us is always wrapped in His love for us. We can know, but there many people, maybe even
us, who push His love away or even disconnect themselves from what God is
doing.
Psalm 139:23-24 (NASB)
Search me, O God, and know
my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful
way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
Seek God and even ask God to search you.
Respond to what God says and allow Him to use those findings to make you
and those around you stronger.
By living out the love of God in our lives we have a deeper impact on
others. Like Bob Goff says, “when we
love like Jesus loves, you’ll live like Jesus lives.”
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