GIVING AND RECEIVING LOVE HAS SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR BELIEVERS!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience.
(Colossians 3:12)

MEDITATION:
We live in a world of selfishness
which has caused “love” to become a rare commodity.
“Love” is an emotion that helps us cope
with seemingly insurmountable problems in our lives.

It can lift us out of the depths of despair; it can change hopelessness into hope.
Webster defines it as, “An intense feeling of deep affection”.
In other words, true love is more than just a casual word;
it means much more than “like”.

We have heard phrases which use the word “love”
but fail to include the true meaning of the word.
Phrases like, “I love my job!” “I love sports!”
“I love to read!” “I love music”, etc.
In these instances, “love” means “really like” or “really enjoy”,
but do not encompass “an intense feeling of deep affection” for another person.

Think about the times you have felt a sincere love from someone else
(even if they didn’t say they loved you).
It is something that can be deeply felt, but difficult to describe.
Sincere love from another person can fill a void in your life
and create a feeling of completeness in you.

Now, think about the times when you were in desperate need for love,
but it was nowhere to be found.
It can make bad times even worse, can’t it?
When we are hurting, we often keep our pain to ourselves because
we don’t want to add to our misery by sharing with others in hopes
of receiving their love, and then being disappointed when it isn’t there.

Lastly, think about times you have shown love to others.
Remember how their response and how it made you feel.
Even if someone was not receptive to your expression of love,
you still felt good about your efforts to lift their spirits and encourage them.

Some people have lived their lives to this point without
ever experiencing the warmth of feeling the love from another person.
For some, receiving an expression of love from someone
was so long ago that they have forgotten how it felt to be loved.

Solomon was known as possibly the wisest man God created.
God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of
understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s
wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,
and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. (1 Kings 4:29-30)

And why was he given this wisdom?
He asked for it….
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people,
for who is able to govern this great people of yours? (2 Chronicles 1:10)

….and God responded (He also gave him much more than he asked for
because He read the heart of Solomon).
God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not
asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies,
and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge
to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom
and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions
and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you
will have.” (2 Chronicles 1:11-12)

As a man with wisdom from God, Solomon spent an inordinate amount
of time meditating on life and he reminds us that we never know what
each day will bring…will we experience love, or something worse?
So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise
and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love
or hate awaits them. (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

ACTION:
If you are suffering from a lack of love from others,
remember that the God who created you, loves you.
We may never realize the magnitude of His love until we see Him face to face.
When others fail to show love, or turn their backs on us, God is
the One who runs in our direction when others walk away.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love
has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,
who has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)

Being loved by others often requires loving others first (and unconditionally).
When we show love to others, we experience several benefits (here are just 5):
1. We are assured that we know God and belong to Him.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

2. We discover that we are on a path of pursuing righteousness,
which confirms that we consider God as our Heavenly Father.
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children
of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child,
nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. (1 John 3:10)

3. We are encouraged by the knowledge that we are following
the example of the One we have chosen to worship and serve.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in
the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

4. We discover that we can trust God to always love us.
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. (Psalm 52:8)

5. Loving others is an indication that we are replacing selfishness with
selflessness, and that we are striving to obey God’s commands, including:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility
value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but
each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your unimaginable love for me, a
sinner who has been rescued by the blood of Your Son, Jesus. Help
me to gratefully allow Your love to flow through me to others. Show
me how to love others more, so they can detect Your love in me. I am
thankful that whenever I have a desperate need to be loved, I can always
depend on Your love and presence. Father, You know more about me
and my heart than anyone else, and You know how to soothe the hurts
in my life that others cannot detect. Teach me to value the sincere love
from others, and to readily receive and embrace their love, care, and
concern for me.”

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