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What is Love?

by I Go to the Rock

What is Love?

Love, by definition, is to have an intense feeling of deep affection. This definition is based on feeling, but love as God designed it is a decision – an action word.  It is not an emotion or feeling that you decide to embrace or push away, but rather love is the foundation of our lives as Christians and the basis of our relationships through Christ Jesus.

The scriptures tells us exactly how to love each other. If we carried these instructions with us every day and practiced them on everyone we encountered, we would change the world!

1. Be Kind

Kindness is showing care and compassion for those around us. In a world full of rushed and hurried people, we should take a moment to be kind to someone else. Just take a moment and think about the different ways you can show kindness to the people in your life. Start with your family and make kindness a way of life in your household. Teach your children at a young age what it means to think about others and how to show compassion to others.

2. Show Patience

Another part of loving others is to be patient with them. Some struggle with patience. They want things done quickly and the way they want them done, when they want them done. God helps us to see oursleves when we are being impatient and when we need to slow down and stop rushing.

Life was not intended to be a rat race and when you rush things, especially when others are involved, you will only do more harm than good. Most likely unnecessary mistakes will be made and the outcome will not be the one you desired. So, take a deep breath and allow Christ to help you embrace patience and impart it upon yourself and others.

3. Give Respect

Love is also demonstrated by showing honor to others. Giving people around your respect and honor gives glory to God. Your actions and words really express who you are inside. You build people up when you show respect and honor. There are times in anger that it is hard to show honor, but it is in those times that we truly show love the way God intended.

This is exactly what happens when we curb our tongue and speak life and positive things into another person. There’s a reason the Golden Rule is called named what it is. When we treat others the way we would like to be treated it pays off for everyone involved.

Love is an action, not a feeling or emotion – and when we get the true understanding of how God intended us to interact and love each other, we will start to change the world one person at a time.

 

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Loving Others as Yourself

by I Go to the Rock

Loving Others as Yourself

Showing the love of Christ to others is important as we go about sharing the good news and gospel of Jesus Christ. When we love others as ourselves, we are showing them what being a Christian is about. You can speak all day long, but if your actions are not loving, kind, and compassionate then no one will listen to you for too long. Your words and actions must be consistent.

Loving others as yourself requires you to think of each person you meet as just as important in your life as you are – caring for them as much as you care about your own well being; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This type of love not only shares everything it has but looks for ways to uplift and encourage.

Think about how different our schools, churches, and neighborhoods would be if we all practiced loving each other as we love ourselves. Love like this looks at every person as essential to their life in Christ. We should look for ways to not only improve our own situation, but that of others around us.

Missionary work is an example of loving others as yourself. Missionaries go out and live in sometimes very uncomfortable conditions to show others the love of Christ. They give unselfishly toward building the faith of people all around the world.

What practical ways can you love your neighbor as yourself during your daily routine? Just as you pray for yourself, you can also pray for them. Prayer changes things and when you pray for someone, even if they are not aware of it, you are showing the love of God. If you see an area of their life that needs prayer, ask the Father to move on their behalf.

Showing compassion for others is also important. The compassion you show to others is your testimony. Your actions are showing others what you believe and that you love others and are willing to help. All too often, the first instance of Jesus some people will ever see is Jesus in you.  What will they see?

Loving yourself, your neighbor, and God also brings balance into your life. We can get so caught up in thinking about our needs that we forget about others. It is when we take our focus off of ourselves and give God all the praise and honor and start looking for ways to help others that change starts to happen in our life. You will find a peace in your heart because you are actively loving yourself, others, and God.

 

 

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Loving Like Christ

by I Go to the Rock

Loving Like Christ

Christ is an awesome example of love – real love. He sacrificed Himself fully for others. Even when the sacrifice was painful, sorrowful and without joy, Christ gave Himself – including ultimately giving His own life so that others wouldn’t have to suffer.

His sacrifice is a wonderful example of the ultimate love, but how does the Christian of today measure up? Today we are so full of worldly thoughts, such as what we would like to accomplish and what we want to accumulate financially and materially. Being so full of wants and desires, thinking only of ourselves, how can we get to that place of loving like Christ?

The first step would be to stop being so consumed by our personal goals, dreams, and aspirations. While there is nothing wrong with a purpose filled life while here on earth, make sure your list doesn’t include only physical or material things. Include spiritual dreams and goals about how you will show the love of God to everyone you meet. This has to be very intentional, planning in advance how you will not think so much of yourself but instead think of the needs of others and how you can meet that need.

There is so much need all around us. Just take a moment, open your eyes and really look at the people who are in your life and who you may see as you go through your normal day. When a homeless person asks for help, how do you react? Do you immediately think of how hard you have worked for what you have and keep moving, or do you think but by the grace of God that could be me and show compassion? In that scenario, giving money may not be the best thing to do, but you may be able to help with a meal and a few words of encouragement.

Think about what someone else might need to help lighten an already hard situation. The loss of a job can be very shattering. It is not just the loss of income, but the unemployed also lose the fulfillment and purpose of having a job to attend daily. Showing care and compassion for an unemployed friend could be giving a small gift card to a nearby gas station or grocery store.

Sometimes the giving will be a sacrifice; it will not always be comfortable. God may prompt you to give money you had set aside for something you wanted and your obedience will not only bless the other person, but you will also grow in God as you trust Him to guide you.

There are so many other situations in life where the people around us are hurting and need the love of Christ shown through acts of kindness and generosity. Loving like Christ takes an open and giving heart, ready to sacrifice your wants to fill the needs of others.

 

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