Love fully

Tags

betrayal, forgiveness, love, unconditional love

It seems the older I get the more I realise how hard it is to love without conditions…or expectations.

It’s actually unbelieveable to comprehend that kind of love is real. The kind of love that loves people with such freedom.

Actually it shocks me, when I realise God loves us fully, even with the knowledge of how one day, we may hurt him or turn away from him or even not love him back.

When I think about that in the context of my own world, I become uncomfortable. I am deeply challenged by the depth of courage and grace and forgiveness it takes for me to even begin to love people fully. Completely. Despite their failings. Despite my failings.

There is always some valid excuse not to love someone fully.
How do you love someone who rejects you, betrays you, hurts you, disappoints you?
It’s impossible, isn’t it?

But when I open my bible, I am floored by what I see.. By who I see.
Jesus.
And I want to be like Him.

Love Changes EVERYTHING

Tags

God, grace, love

SOMETIMES I forget how incredible, how amazing, how deep and how enormous the love of God is in my life.

WHEN I think about how deep God loves me, I almost can’t imagine how far it actually goes.  God’s heart aches for me, He is jealous for my affection and His love goes so far that He would do whatever was necessary to rescue me from a life of hell…literally.

I don’t have any other love quite like that in my life and so there are times I don’t give that justice. What I mean is, when I really sit a remind myself of God’s love for me…. it actually CHANGES EVERYTHING.  It turns my world upside down!

WHEN I experience His love all over again it changes my perspective and my response to the world around me.  And so it should.  A revelation of God’s real love changes the way I treat people in my  life, it changes the way I respond to pain and hurt, it changes the way I love my family, it changes the way I live my life, it changes the things I live for.

And I want it to change everything.  I don’t want to love the same way the world loves.  Selfish, conditional and temporary.  I want to love with the kind of love that can only come from God.  Unconditional, selfless, forgiving, transforming, extravagant and gracious.  That’s the kind of love that CHANGES EVERYTHING!

Love always

Tags

hope, love, People

“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:7

I find this verse both encouraging and challenging at the same time.  I am encouraged by the emphasis on love being consistent but when it comes to the reality, ‘always’ is a pretty high standard to live up to.

I am challenged in my life to be as consistent as possible in being a person who loves and lives like this.  I want to be someone who always protects those in my life.  Protects their reputation, and protects the things of God in their life.  I want to be someone who chooses to trust rather than get cynical and skeptical of people. I want to be someone who chooses hope in the face of despair, and I want to be someone who perseveres and doesn’t quit on people.  That’s the kind of love I want to have and I want to receive in my life.

Of course, I can’t love like this without a revelation of this kind of Love that God gives.  It can only come from God, cos none of us are perfect.  Loving God first is the key to loving other people.  But I know that without this love I cannot be the kind of person God has called me to be.  If God didn’t continue to hope and trust and persevere and protect me then I know my life would be very different.

Loving people is not easy but with God’s help, I believe that when we choose to love others, as we have been loved, Love doesn’ t fail.  It brings out the best in people.

We need a LOVE REVOLUTION!