I Love You

 

     What is Love exactly? Is it hugs and kisses? Romantic letters and steamy nights? Is it x's and o's or hearts and Valentines?? Those are all good and great but they are not true love- they are expressions of love (some) can be mistaken for love when they are in fact expressions of lust)...the products of Love. 

     I was trying to teach my kids Sunday what Love truly is..and I thank God (literally) that He already has told us- not what Love is like, but what Love is. You can find it in 1Corinthians 13:4-8. The best part of all this is, all the things that Love is, God is because God is Love. So once we realize this and grasp it and believe it, how can we not go to Him with our concerns, requests and cares? How could we ever think He doesn't care or understand what we are going through? I know we aren't supposed to change the words of the Scriptures as far as adding or taking away...but if you replace the word "Love" with "God"....I'm pretty sure He wouldn't mind since they are one in the same.

Love God is patient and kind. Love God is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It  God is not self seeking. It  God is not irritable, and it God keeps no record of being wronged. It God does not rejoice in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love God never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.Love God never fails.

I want my children to grow up and pit every relationship, every butterfly feeling in their tummies and every crush up against this verse. It will eliminate so many time wasters and heart breakers. If you are not allowed to make mistakes because they are always thrown up in your face- that's not Love.If you are with someone controlling or jealous- that's not Love. 

Likewise, how can we say we love the Lord but are homophobic, or anti-Jew or 

 pro-white? I think this says it best:

People, as Christians we were never called to hate, to judge or to condemn. We can not and should not bully and bash people into a relationship with God. It's got to start with Love. WE must love others, not what they do or what they say or how they act, but THEM. Love them the way God loved us when we were at our worst. Love covers a multitude of sin. Love is Patient,Love is KIND. Whether we like it or not, if we profess to be Christians then the world will look at us as an example of the Lord. How can we ever draw the world in if we exemplify a Condemning God? 
Final words:

Romans 8:1-2

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."

Look. Observe. Verify. Enjoy.

"I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine and you shine for me too
I love you
Yesterday
And today
And tomorrow
I'll say it again and again
I love you more"~I LOVE YOU MORE BY MATTHEW WEST

I was on my way to the gym when this song came on the radio and though I've heard it hundreds of times( and love it,might I add) it was the line that said:
"I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine and you shine for me too"
     I mean, think about it. God spoke the stars into existence. He taught them how to shine and when He is done with them, He tells them to fall from the sky and they obey.No questions asked. All of creation is like this-spoken into existence, completes the task it was taught by its Creator to do and then just fades away when told its time is up. At no point does any of Creation ever disobey the Lord. Except for one rogue piece of Art: Humans.
     We were not spoken into being, but lovingly molded by The Potter's hands from Earth (man) and bony flesh (woman). We had the privilege of walking with Him,learning from Him and knowing His voice....and we still let Him down every single day. We are the only components of His Creation that were given our own minds to make our own decisions and to choose right from wrong, and more often than not we choose wrong. And guess what? He loves us more.
     God is not some vengeful monster with his hand over a red button just waiting to open a trap door to Hades and send us all to the fiery pit. He loves us all so much. I absolutely  can't stand the "Christians" who stand in front of abortion clinics screaming "whore" and "murderer" to the women going in. And the ones picketing outside gay rallies with their "God hates F@*%$" signs ought to be slapped silly. But let me tell you something( and I don't care if you agree or not) MY GOD LOVES PEOPLE. EVERY PERSON. Man,woman, fat, skinny,American,Romanian,Muslim,Jewish and Baptist. Rich, poor, gay, bi, straight, black, white, green or purple....4'6" or 6'4", it doesn't matter whether you've smoked weed, had an abortion, stolen a kiss or a Rolex watch- GOD LOVES YOU MORE THAN EVERY STAR IN THE SKY, EVERY WHALE IN THE SEA, AND EVERY SONG SUNG BY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL EXOTIC BIRDS. He took the time to use His very hands to mold you and knit you together inside your mother. He breathed the breath of Life into you and sustains your every movement. And whether or not you choose to serve Him and love Him as much as He loves you- His love for you will never ever change. His love can only be matched by His forgiveness. Just as there is nothing you can do to stop Him from loving you, there is nothing He can't forgive.(Notice I said can't forgive, not won't forgive....Matthew 12:31-32). 
     Why not take this time to show the Lord how much you love Him? If you have not yet given your life to Him, don't you think you've gone through this life on your own long enough?Tomorrow is not promised to you- you may not even have the rest of tonight. Why not give give your heart to Jesus? He's already given so much more for you. 

He loves you more.