DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-11)

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” has taken a backseat to
selfishness and worldly pleasures. Some have equated “Love”
to sexual relationships that do not fall within the guidelines
God has established for intimacy between a couple that has
been joined in matrimony (as God intended it to be).

Many men ‘play at love’ to get what they want, which is sex.
Conversely, many women ‘play at sex’ to get what they want,
which is love. Love was never intended by God to be a type
of ‘plaything’.

“Love” is an emotion that can help us cope with what seems to be
insurmountable problems in our lives. It can lift us from 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. We hear people say things 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 our lives and create a feeling
of completeness in us.

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, don’t we? Why would we do that? It could be because
we don’t want to add to our misery by sharing with others in hopes
of receiving their love, and then be disappointed with the lack of
love and understanding from others.

Lastly, think about times you have shown love to others. Remember
how they responded, 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, right?

Some people have lived their entire 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 has been
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 to his request (God 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? It’s like we’re standing in a doorway, and
what lies beyond it, we can’t see. We might ask ourselves, “Will
I step into the next morning, or will I step into eternity?”
    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 are walking 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)

If we fail to love others as Jesus does, we will easily find
fault in the things they say and do, or the things they
don’t say and do. If we aren’t careful, we can even have
a tendency to blame others for our own mistakes.

We are instructed in the scriptures to always be honest,
and that includes being honest with ourselves. None of
us are perfect and we will all make mistakes, but if we
want to practice ‘self honesty’ then we need to ’own’
our mistakes rather than shifting the blame to someone
else.

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 see, or understand.
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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