August 4, 2012

“Sacrifice In Love”

One Day, One Truth

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is Love. (1 John 4:7-8) NLT

Our Creator endowed us with the ability to love—an attribute of our gracious God that we should never take lightly and one that we should aspire to and try to live by. The Lord our God loved us first (1 John 4:19) and because of His unconditional love, He took it upon Himself to save us from our own self-induced destruction (Romans 5:8). As finite, imperfect creatures we tend to search for love that makes us feel good, rather than seeking others that need our love. And most often, the love that we search for is not the kind of love that brings us closer to God. When the Lord created us, He created us to love and honor Him first and above all else, but because of the first man’s disobedience to God, mankind fell into self-love instead. We live in a fallen state that screams: “this life is all about me and what makes me feel good about myself.” And these good feelings we are trained to attain can only come by loving ourselves first, because the world tells us that if we don’t love ourselves first how can we love anyone else? My dear friends, if we refuse to love the Lord our God above all else, we will never experience the greatest attribute of all—True Love (1 Corinthians 13:13). For love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Can anyone love this way on their own? The answer is empathically no! We are selfish by nature and self-centered by osmosis, so we tend to put ourselves in the first seat. It is only by the gracious power of the Holy Spirit and by our Lord Jesus’ example that we can truly love, for true love is characterized by humility, obedience to God, and sacrifice. I don’t believe it’s possible to find any joy in living if we don’t sacrifice ourselves for others. Happiness is better found when we are actively doing something good for someone else—focusing selflessly on others who are in need of God’s mercy and grace as well. To further the Kingdom of Jesus Christ our Everlasting King, we must first love God and then put to death our own self-centered love and be borne again of the Spirit. If you truly love the Lord, my friends, and desire some peace and joy, you should begin by prioritizing your love life according to the riches of His grace, by humbly submitting to His Word, and then sacrifice in love!

A Still Small Voice

Follow Me, my child…and love those I love. For when you love others as I have loved you, you will know what it means to be filled with joy.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJ)

1 Corinthians 13:13

There are three things that will endure— faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (NLT)

We love Him because He loved us first. (1 John 4:19)