Love: Day 2 - God's Love Pt 2

Last night and most of today were really difficult for me. Instead of focusing on God's love I was focusing on my own love, and the love that other's have for me instead of the love that God has for me. I, as well as most of you probably do, have a tendency to think I can do things on my own without God's help. I have those moments and even those days where I think I can tell God "Okay man, I got this, you can go on about your business." I think that I, by myself, know how to show people love. I think that I can get by without praying for wisdom and patience, and without seeking what God has to say about love. Do you know what happens when you rely on your own understanding rather than the wisdom of the Lord? You mess up, and you fall down. A lot. You scrape your knees and before you know it you're running right back into His arms with tears pouring down your face, and He tells you, "Well if you had just listened to me and hadn't gone playing where I told you not to, you wouldn't have tripped or scraped your knees."

That was definitely me last night and today. I was ignoring what God had to tell me about love. I was essentially ignoring God's love. Instead of showing others a love like our God's, I was using my own understanding. And it ended in tears and heartache. I couldn't even worship God at church this morning because I was ashamed of the way I was acting. I couldn't meet my friends in the eyes because I was ashamed of the "love" I had been showing them. But God swept me away by His grace. "You messed up. You didn't listen to me, but instead relied on yourself and you scraped your knees again. But I love you beyond your wildest imagination and my arms are open to you always. Come to me. Rest in me. I am your beloved and you are my gem." That's what God told me, and I broke down.

Despite how many times I have spat in God's face, He still wants me. He still loves me and desires to have an intimate relationship with me. And the same is true for you. There is nothing you could ever do to separate yourself from God's love. But it is important for us to know we do not deserve the love God has to offer us. We have done nothing worthy of His mercy and grace, but He gives it to us anyway. So why not show your gratitude toward Him and live a life worthy of His praise? Live for the One who gave you life. Love the way God loves.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16 NIV
God sent Jesus Christ to die the death WE should have died. WE deserved and deserve to be put on that cross. But Jesus lived a sinless and blameless life so that He could sacrifice Himself for each and every single one of us. If God didn't love us, He would not have sent Jesus for us. God desired to be close and intimate with us. Jesus could have said "The heck with that, I'm not going through this!" and He had all the power in the world to resist what happend to Him. But He didn't. Why? Why would anyone die such a terrible and painful death for sinners who wanted nothing to do with Him? One word: love.

"Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living." -Job 28:13 NIV
This verse is so special to me, and it should be to you, too. Think for a second about the person or thing you love more than anything in this world, and what he/she/it is worth to you. Now multiply that worth as high as you can imagine. God loves you more than that, and you are even more worthy to Him than that. We cannot fathom how much we are worth to God. We cannot wrap our minds around it, because it is so dense. The love God has for us is NOT of this world. In order to love like God we must fix our eyes on what is unseen.

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." -Ephesians 2:4-5
Wow. Even when I was dead in sin, even when I was living a life against the law of the Lord, He sent me Jesus. He brought us back to life with the blood of a savior.

"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." -1 John 4:7-8
If you get nothing out of this, remember this verse, live by this verse. Love each other, like God loves us. Do not concentrate on your own defintion and assumptions of what love is, but look to God for love. Ask God to show you how to love according to His law. Love comes from God, and God alone.


He loves you more than any human being could ever possibly love you.
Focus your attention on Him, and ask Him to show you His love for you and how to love like He loves.