DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (Introduction)

WHY SHOULD WE LEARN MORE ABOUT GOD’S LOVE?

The scriptures give us a solid reason for learning more about God’s love.
    Whoever does not love, does not
    know God, because God is love.
    (1 John 4:8)

MEDITATION:
A husband and wife visited an orphanage where they hoped to adopt
a child. In an interview with the boy they wanted, they told him in
glowing terms about the many things they could give him. To their
amazement the little fellow said,
    “If you have nothing to offer except a good home, clothes,
      toys, and the other things that most kids have—why, I
      would just as soon stay here.”
The woman asked.
    “What on earth could you want besides those things?”
The little boy replied,
    “I just want someone to love me”

Even a little boy knew that
    “man shall not live by bread alone”.
Our deepest yearnings and longings can only be met
by a renewed fellowship with the One (God) who loves
us and has created us in His own image.

We have a lot of wants, but we also have many needs, and
one of the greatest needs we all have is the feeling that we
are loved (even though we might not openly admit it). That
means that we have an opportunity to love and encourage
others, in addition to receiving love ourselves.

One of the essential needs of every individual is to know
that they are loved (by someone (anyone)). In desperation,
some people try all kinds of things that are bad for them,
in an effort to feel loved. It is not a need that can be cured
with medicine, and no one can be forced to love us.

    **copied**
    Love is a universal need that is essential to our well-being. Love is
    not just a warm feeling towards another person. It is the desire to
    enhance their well-being and quality of life. It is both giving and
    receiving love.

    Receiving love is very important, but if we are focused only on receiving,
    we will not be fulfilled no matter how much love we get. Receiving love
    only partially fulfills the need for love. Giving can only fulfill one part
    of the need for love. The act of giving love can take the forms of words
    or actions. Sometimes the willingness to listen attentively and silently 
    with care and interest to another person can be a powerful way of showing
    love.

    A loving response to someone could include words of encouragement,
    guidance, or support. When we show our deepest interest towards another
    person, it generally becomes evident what form our response needs to be
    in order to address their needs at the moment. When we give them our total
    attention, we will discern the best form that our love needs to take at the
    moment.

    Unless we are willing to open ourselves to the offerings of love being
    directed toward us, we won’t be able to absorb the full benefit of the
    caring that is coming our way. There may be competing commitments
    that are interfering with our reception of love, which vary in form.

    There may be a belief that we’re not worthy of love. Our own
    self-judgments can prevent us from being open to accepting
    love when it is shown. We may be so attached to a particular
    way that we want love shown to us, that we fail to recognize
    love when it comes right to us.

    Expressions of love include touching, words of affirmation, acts that
    are intended to bring ease into someone’s life, gifts, and our focused
    attention. If our perception of the expression of love is limited, we may
    fail to recognize love when it is demonstrated. A person might receive
    an expensive gift for a birthday, but they may not feel loved because
    there was no card with the loving words they were longing for.

    There is a common misconception in our culture that self-love
    spontaneously arises within every person. There is a belief that
    we can’t fully love someone else until we love ourselves. While
    there may be some truth to that notion that we can’t give love if
    we don’t feel it in ourselves, we can act in loving ways toward
    others if we choose that intention. Most of us have experienced
    receiving love from others before our capacity to give love has
    been fully activated.

    We can have a feeling of shame if we admit that we need more love
    than we are getting. We may have a fear that we will be identified
    as a needy person. We may feel that a deficiency of love is a reflection
    of our own inadequacy. As a result, we attempt to conceal this need of
    ours, rather than seeking out ways of giving and receiving love more fully.
    **copied**

The Bible has a lot to say about love, so it must be an important
part of everyone’s life, wouldn’t you agree? Listed below are just
a ‘few’ scriptures about love:
    How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
    (Psalm 36:7)

    The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again,
    though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love
    her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other
    gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
    (Hosea 3:1)

    He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the
    Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk
    humbly with your God.
    (Micah 5:8)

    neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
    will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
    Christ Jesus our Lord.
    (Romans 8:39)

    But whoever loves God is known by God.
    (1 Corinthians 8:3)

    Do everything in love.
    (1 Corinthians 16:14)

    But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
    (Ephesians 2:4)

    My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love,
    so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in
    order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ
    (Colossians 2:2)

    God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have
    shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
    (Hebrews 6:10)

    But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made
    complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:
    (1 John 2:5)

    See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should
    be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason
    the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
    (1 John 3:1)

    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)

    This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and
    only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love:
    not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an
    atoning sacrifice for our sins.
    (1 John 4:9-10)

    No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another,
    God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
    (1 John 4:12)

    And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God
    is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
    (1 John 4:16)

    Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.
    For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they
    have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
    (1 John 4:20)

    Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,
    and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This
    is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God
    and carrying out his commands.
    (1 John 5:1-2)

ACTION:
We can all agree that God loves us, right? We can all agree that His
Son, Jesus loves us, right? If we are followers of Jesus, then we have
a responsibility to learn to love like He loves, right? While reading 
the scriptures listed above, we may feel we have been falling short
in the area of love.

Satan wants us to think that our amount of love is just right. He wants
us to assume that we are doing okay in the area of love. However, we
could be failing miserably in our efforts to allow God to expand our 
capacity for loving others to include all of the people God has created. 
Sometimes it can seem like a daunting effort to love all people, right?

However, we should remember that, although we may disapprove of
the actions of some people, we can still love the person. Why? Because
they, like us, were created by God. None of us want God to view us as
someone who hates what He has created. If we hate His creations, then
we cannot fully love our Creator as we should, right?

As we journey through the lessons/devotionals He has provided, let’s
commit to allowing the Lord to speak to our hearts about love. Rather
than resisting His efforts to change us, let’s embrace how He is changing
us into more of a likeness of Jesus (the One we are following).

Does that mean we should feel convicted to change some areas of our
lives? Of course it does, and if it doesn’t, then we should ask ourselves,
    “Am I really committed to allowing my Heavenly
      Father to transform me into a more righteous
      person who is becoming more like Jesus?”

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your desire to transform
me through Your sanctification process. Although it might
be challenging for me in some ways, help me to embrace how
You are lovingly changing me to become more righteous and
more like Jesus. Father, You know how Satan will do whatever
he can to cause me to resist Your changes, but You are more
powerful than he is, so I pray that You will defeat his efforts
to discourage me from accepting Your changes in me. Teach
me how to live outside of myself, so that I will have a greater
love for others and look for ways to show this newfound love
given to me by You.”

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