May 30, 2017

May 30, 2017

1 John 4:18

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

It has been WAY too long since I last wrote on my blog, and for that, I am genuinely sorry.

If you all could please pray for me to continue these devotionals, I could really use some strength.

I have always, always, ALWAYS admired love, and the way that God shows love to us, and the way we show love to others.

Everywhere I look, I see God's love.  Sometimes, we really don't understand how what He is doing, is loving us.  But, we have to have faith, because we are a part of something so big and miraculous; something we don't see or understand; something SO MUCH BIGGER than us.

God shows love to us in beautiful, mysterious ways.  How do we not notice?

The trees, the sky, the wind. 

The oceans, the mountains, the grass.

God loves us so much that He gave us all of this wonder and beauty, in hopes that we would look around and really notice that was Him.  That was all Him.  Every time we discover a new planet, a new star, a new GALAXY, God laughs at us heartily and says, "That was me!  Keep looking. That was me. There is so much more that you don't know. I love you."

The ways that we love each other are different than the ways that God loves us.  God loves us in crazy, awesome ways, like creating us, creating what is around us, creating LIFE.

The ways we love each other these days are skewed from what they should be.  We post about each other on Facebook, or Instagram, using silly hashtags like #wcw, #mcm, #wce, or #mce.  Really? "Man crush Monday"?  "Woman Crush Wednesday?" 

HOW ON EARTH does that even measure up to how we should love each other?

It doesn't. That isn't real love!

Love isn't just a cute little feeling we get when we look at a boy we like, or a girl we like. 

Love isn't just the little butterflies that fill our tummies when we have a crush on a guy or a girl.

But I can tell you what love IS. 

Love.. Is choosing every single day, waking up every day, and saying "I choose to love this person." "I choose to love my family, and my friends, and my Lord." 

"I choose."

Because love is more than a feeling; it's an action! It is NOT posting a cute picture of your significant other on social media with a cutesy hashtag that millions of people have used to describe a "Man crush" or a "Woman crush."

Love is laying down your love for someone.

If we all loved each other more, chose to love each other everyday, and be kind, the world would be a much better place.

I have always enjoyed reading what love really is in the passages in 1 Corinthians, about how love is patient, and kind, does not boast or envy...

Love is EVEN MORE THAN THAT!

There is NO FEAR in love.

If you are afraid to love, then something is wrong. 

Fear is what caused Peter to fall when he walked on water. He looked away from Jesus as he walked, looked toward the ocean, and feared. He fell. He began to sink.

But LOVE. Love is what pulled Peter out of the water. Love is Jesus reaching for your hand and saving you.

Jesus died on the cross for us with so much love in His heart.

Sure, He was afraid, and didn't want to die, but He loved us so much that He was willing to lay Himself down for us. He CHOSE to love us. He was willing to sacrifice Himself in such a way as to save us forever from our sin. And all with love.

SO GO OUT THERE AND LOVE. Because LOVE moves mountains. Love saves people.

John 15:13~

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Rachel Scott~

"People will never know how far a little kindness can go."