TO LOVE, OR NOT TO LOVE – IT IS NOT A QUESTION

SCRIPTURE:
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 
(1 John 4:8)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever taken the time 
to think about the important things in your life?
What did you put at the top of your list?
Was it family, a good job, a healthy life style, etc.?
Whenever we overlook the importance of God in our lives, 
our priority list will be lacking.

The two most important things in our lives are, 
(1) that we know God and, (2) that He knows us.
At the end of our earthly journey, 
we do not want to hear this from the Lord:
Then I will tell them plainly, 
‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:23)

The following is the message from the Lord to those who claimed to be 
Christians, but had never had a change of heart (that was a result of 
surrendering their lives to the Lord, and allowing the Holy Spirit to 
permeate their entire being).
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of 
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your 
name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many 
miracles?’ (Matthew 7:21-22)

How do we know that we have been genuinely changed?
When we have an attitude of loving others with no qualifications 
or restrictions, then we have allowed God’s Spirit to change us.
When we are truly changed, 
we are changed from the inside out, and not the outside in.
Our attitude, likes and dislikes, concern for others, 
and even our countenance will show that the Lord has changed us.

We can’t however, dress up the outside for others to see 
and expect to have a change of our hearts.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be 
seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the 
hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:1-2)

The love of Jesus was shown through His actions 
and not by the way He tried to appear before others.
He wept tears of compassion at the graveside of a friend. 
He mourned over Jerusalem, because as a city, 
it had lost its appreciation of the things of the Spirit. 
His great heart was sensitive to the needs of others.

Too often, those who have not allowed the Lord to love through them, 
are guilty of having expectations of others, 
that they do not expect of themselves.
For instance, someone may say, “No one cares about me”, 
but they are guilty of not showing care and concern for others.

God looks at the heart and knows if a person has been truly changed.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was 
hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me 
nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed 
clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not 
look after me.’ (Matthew 25:41-43)

Whenever we have surrendered our lives to the Lord, 
we will have a greater concern for others.
No longer will our life revolve around our self.
No longer will we will we isolate ourselves from others and waste time 
trying to read their minds regarding their relationship with us.
No longer do we spend time judging others
on how their actions (or lack thereof) affect us.
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge 
others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be 
measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)

When we love the Lord as we should, 
we can tolerate and absorb the things others do, that in the past, would 
have caused us to isolate ourselves from them and become depressed or angry. 
When someone has wronged us in some way, we no longer have a self-pity party, 
or think of ways to get revenge, but we learn to love them anyway. 
We can do that, because God is love and if He lives in us, 
then we know how to love others.

ACTION:
Have you heeded the words of Jesus?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul 
and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

If you have, then you have learned the value 
of compassionately sharing in the sorrow, distress and misfortune of others. 
You have also learned to love others unconditionally 
and to do things for others with no expectations of anything in return.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)

You aren’t even offended if they fail to say, “Thank you”, 
because your heart has been changed, 
and you do things for others out of a heart of love.
If you do things for others in order to check something off your “to do” 
list, or so you can tell others what you did, 
then was it really from a changed heart?

Pray,
“Thank you Heavenly Father for Your love for me. I pray that you will 
sensitize my heart with Your compassion so that I can love others as You 
love me. Help me to show love to others, and to You, so that I will know 
You and You will know me. Remold me so that I will be motivated from 
a heart of love, and not from a selfish heart that wants to convince others 
of my salvation, or for the purpose of being praised for the things I have 
done.”