Tangible love, what a fun concept, figuring out how we can love on our neighbors. Doesn't get much better then that. After reading all the post and spending some time in the scripture, I have some thoughts:
I think we all have agree'd that Community is important, to have an active relationship with others (I believe Christian or non-Christian) is crucial. So does Jesus:
1 John 3:18
"Dear Children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
Love is active and in Truth. The actions that our love produces is guided by the Truth that God has given. That is awesome. These are a couple of verses I found that can guide us in this "Truth" love:
Hebrews 10:24-25
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the day approaching.
Loving others means encouraging one another. Encouraging friends, family, and strangers in life and in their relationship with Christ. "Spur" one another on toward love and good deeds. Push people into being stronger "lovers" and "better" people. I really enjoy this verse for a couple of reasons: 1. Encouraging to me, also means, spuring people to love Jesus more (the ultimate goal). 2. The more we spur other to love Jesus, the more power the body of Christ holds, which allows us to share the love, freedom, and salvation that Our savior holds to greater numbers.
Next, my sister Aubrey left a comment with this verse outlined:
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Love is PATIENT and KIND. Love is NOT JEALOUS or BOASTFUL or PROUD or RUDE. It does NOT DEMAND its own way. It is NOT IRRITIABLE, and it keeps NO RECORD of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH Love NEVER gives up, NEVER loses faith, is always HOPEFUL, and ENDURES through every circumstance."
Each section of this verse is a blog post alone, so I'm not going to dissect it too much. Read this verse and then think of the power of love. Though I've read this verse several times in the past, this time it rocked my world. I belive it's becasue I'm looking from a different perspective now. I desire to truly live a life in which I love my nieghbor, no matter who it is, with each of these characteristics. Though the nature of sin makes it nearly impossible, I believe there are levels of success, depending on how intentional (or serious) we are on showing Christ's love. Throughout the day, I catch myself in certain circumstances, reciting the section of this verse that is related to whatever is happening.
While you read through this, are there any verses that pop in your head that exhibit Christ's love and a love that we should possess? Share please! In the mean time:
Let's ENCOURAGE all lovers of Jesus to be intentional about LOVE
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
seriously come back to us now!Anyway im commenting now..better late than never lol
ReplyDeleteI could't agree with you more tho, that to truly love your neighbor is an ongoing..process. I was about to say battle but that completely ruins the purpose by calling it a "battle." Besides which, even while loving your neighbor is extremely difficult to do at times, it's so much more rewarding than living your life for your own selfish cause, I've found. One verse that screams God's love for us (to me) is Romans 5:8 " But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Perfect LOVE. To sacrifice it all to people who don't deserve it. If we could show a fraction of Christ's love to others I think things would look a whole lot different than they do...
Love ya son!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing is...Jesus does talk about love and loving your neighbor etc...but not nearly as much as he actively loved, which seems to be the exact opposite of what many of us do including myself. He did not have to talk about loving on people because everyone could see it, instead of repeating treat others as you would want to be treated over and over again, hes says it once, and then repeats the very action over and over again...he does this throughout the bible, he makes a statement one time, and lives it out repetitively...what if this was the last time we had to talk about loving on neighbors b/c we were too busy actually doing it?
ReplyDeletecrazyyyyy
I would have to say the verse in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
ReplyDeleteis a great definition of attributes we should use to love one another
Another good verse:
John 15:12-13
(Jesus said) My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friend"
And I think to myself how did Christ love:
-the first thing that continually comes to my mind is SELFLESSLY
I fI tallied up all the times I thought I was wronged or I deserved something or that something should be about me I would have a whole lot of tally marks let's put it that way.
Our fleshly desire and I believe some of our cultural influence really has created me to look out for numero uno far to many times - to love as Christ does means love selflessly
I think one thing that helps me come to a place of it's not about me is to remember I too am a sinner, deserving of nothing that Christ has given to me through his LOVE.
A verse and thoughts that kind of tie into that is:
Matthew 7:3
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye"
I think the core of loving each other without self gain or to making our self feel like a "good doer" first being real with God about our self, to come to place of humility about the planks in our own eyes which will allow us to relate to the speak in our brothers eyes:
To love one another we must come to a level of humility realizing we are all sinners and all have fallen short of the glory of God.
Not one of us is the hero in the stories/testimonies that come out of loving our neighbors we must remember the hero is CHRIST, for He is the only one that Knows no sin!
Also,
As I feel like as we love our neighbors we must also ask God to teach us through them for all people were made in the image and by God
So whether believers or non-believers they have attributes of God in them naturally and so seek to find those in people and learn from all people some part of who God is.
For example:
I did a community clean up the other day and their was a family there that was not Christians but talking to them and serving alongside them i saw such a Christ like humility that I as a believer have never seen before in myself....God really open my eyes up to their humility and Is teaching me to better walk mine out as believer!
Okay so hopefully this all makes sense:
But a word of encouragement to send you off:
1 Thessalonians 2:12
encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His Kingdom and GLORY!
Sista spamy