My husband and I took a little weekend getaway recently. We went to a place that we frequent when we just want to hole up in the hotel and do school and blog work and reconnect. When we walked in the door of the hotel, the concierge greeted us like old friends. Although it had been almost a year since we had been at this particular hotel, this young man remembered us. Honestly, it wasn’t us that he remembered though. It was Jesus. It was the love of Jesus in us that he saw the last time that we were there. Because, wherever we go, we try (not always successfully) to show love. We try to show people the precious love of Jesus. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” John 13:34.
Prior to knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I was very self-conscious. If you didn’t speak to, smile at, or acknowledge me first, I assumed you were judging me and thought that you were better than me. And I would put up walls and reject you in return. It is a learned behavior. One that my father taught me.
But God has been working on me. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I must believe the word of God and what He says about me. My security cannot be found in what others think (or don’t think) of me.
God says that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14.
And He says that I am accepted. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7.
I am no longer that old sinful insecure person. I am a new creation! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
And He says that I can show love because He loves me! “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19.
When I am impolite, I do not show love. When I am disrespectful in any way, I do not show love. And when I reject others, I do not show love. When I do not listen to a brother or sister who is in need, I do not show love. When someone calls and I press ignore on my phone because I am just too tired to deal with it, I do not show love. So, what am I showing? What is the opposite of love? Hatred!
And there are no blurred lines between love and hate with God. Either you show love or you show hate. He does not hear our “buts”. 1 John 2:9-11 says, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Furthermore, Paul tells the Corinthians — and ultimately us in 1 Corinthians 13 — all about love and its importance to God. He says:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.
Let’s repeat that last sentence. But the greatest of these is LOVE. When we do not show love to our fellow man, what are we showing them? As God’s children — the very children that He sacrificed His own child for — we are called to love in 106+ scripture verses. That is how important love is to God. Why? Because God is love.
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16
It’s hard to believe that before I walked, spoke, or even came into existence, God was designing me, right down to my eye color. And, despite all of my shortcomings and imperfections, He still loves me and faithfully forgives me. And he loves that concierge, you, and everyone upon the face of this broken earth. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
Think about what Jesus saw right before He drew His last breath. Think about what He hears come out of our mouths and/or sees us do. And think about the hurt. Can you imagine the tremendous, overwhelming hurt? Not the pain of the crucifixion. The pain that He must have felt (if only briefly) as He realized what we were going to do in and with our lives. And He knew that we would do it again… and again… and again. Yet, despite all the pain and anguish that we heaped upon Him, He still loved us. He pardoned the actions of the guards who participated in crucifying Him when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And aren’t we just as guilty as they are? Don’t we commit the same offenses? Doesn’t He want that forgiveness for us as well?
He loved us then and He loves us now. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
If He could show His love by giving His very life for ours, can’t we show love to others? Church, it is time to show love. Not superficial kindness. That precious and unfathomable love of Jesus. Love like Jesus!
Father, forgive us when we believe the lies of the enemy instead of the truth of your word. Forgive us when we walk in insecurity, bitterness, and hatred. Father I/we will never be able to show you enough love. We cannot express or show you the love that you deserve. But we can show those around us your love. Help us to love like you. Help us show them the precious love of Jesus. Thank you for your love, Father. Be glorified in us. We pray this in your precious and holy name Jesus.
Do you wait for others to greet, welcome, or love you before you do them? Do you think others are judging you? Maybe you even feel unloved. If that is you, I was once that person too. But God loves you. He wants a relationship with you. He wants you to know the depths of His love. And He wants you to understand how precious you are to Him. All He requires is a heartfelt and honest prayer of repentance. We have a prayer like that outlined on our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/). Please go to this page and pray the prayer that is outlined there (or one like it). God will forgive you and adopt you into His family, once you have prayed that prayer. He will adopt you as His own precious child.
Contact me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com, once you have prayed that prayer. Let me know so that I can be in prayer with and for you. I’d love to welcome you into the family!!!!
Luv Ya!
