Love This Way

It's not valentine's day but let's talk about love. I am no expert on this matter and especially not on relationships but the only reason why I feel I have the authority to discuss love is because I  know it first hand.

If you came from my era where slambooks are a hit, then I'm sure you've come across the question "what is love?" more than once. Funny how I've always thought it was a feeling (A feeling you feel when you feel a feeling never felt before was my corny answer, verbatim). But the Bible tells us otherwise. It is not a feeling but a command.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38, NIV)

And I command you today: Love God, your God. (Deuteronomy 30:16, The Message)  

God sacrificed His one and only Son to save us, sinners. He allowed for His Son to suffer, be persecuted and to die on the cross for you and I, even though we didn't deserve it. He did so that we can be saved and have eternal life with Him. God supremely modeled to us what love is. And that gives Him all the right to command love.

This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. (1 John 3:16, The Message)

Look around you. There are opportunities every single day to obey God's command to love. Pray for a sick colleague. Honor your parents. Assist a stranger carry his groceries to the car. Offer your time and talent to help a friend with her ministry. There are hundreds of ways to follow this command. Love. Just love.

You see the depths of my heart yet you love me the same... 

You are amazing, God!

Indescribable (Chris Tomlin)