DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-31)

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

BIBLE PASSAGE:
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 lifestyle, etc.? Whenever we overlook the
importance of God in our lives, our priority list will be lacking
and/or in disarray.

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,
none of us 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 scripture verses are a message from the Lord to those
who claimed to be Christians, but have never had a change of heart
(the kind of ‘heart’ change 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? We know we
have been changed when we have an attitude of loving others with no
qualifications, expectations or restrictions. That is a good indicator of
how we have allowed God’s Spirit to change us. When we have been 
truly changed, we are changed from the inside out, and not the outside 
in. Our attitudes, likes and dislikes, concerns for others, and especially 
our countenance, will show that the Lord has changed us.

We can’t, however, dress up our ’outside’ for others to see,
and assume that our hearts have genuinely been changed by God.
    “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 for the influence of the Spirit. He had a
loving heart that was sensitive to the needs of others.

Too often, those who have not allowed the Lord to love others through
them, are guilty of having expectations of others, that they don’t 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.

As believers, some of us have become ‘consumers’ but are not ‘givers’.
Selfishness has a way causing people to expect others to take the time
to reach out to them, but they can lack the pro-activeness to reach out
to others.

Jesus taught us to look past our own needs and proactively express
concern for the welfare of others. When we are saved, He gives us a
new capacity for encouraging and lifting the spirits of others without
expecting anything in return. We should spend some time thinking
about how others have gone out of their way to reach out to us, and
compare it with our efforts to reach out to others.

How often have we checked on others to see how they are doing, to
encourage them, and to let them know we are praying for them? How
often do we ask others if there is anything that is burdening them that
we can include in our prayers?
    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)

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 isolate ourselves from others and spend time
trying to read their minds regarding their relationship with us. No
longer do we waste time judging others on how their actions (or lack
of actions) have affected 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 which, in the past, would have caused us to become
angry or depressed, and resulted in our isolating ourselves from them.
When someone has wronged us in some way, we no longer develop a
self-pity party nor do we think of ways to get revenge. Instead, we have
learned to love them anyway. We can do that, because God is love, and
when He lives in us, 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 heeded His words, 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
how to proactively do things for others without any expectations
of anything in return.
    Whoever does not love, does not
    know God, because God is love.
    (1 John 4:8)

You have learned not to be offended if others fail to say, “Thank you”,
because God changed your heart, and you do things for others out of
a heart of love. If you do things for others so you can check something
off your ‘to do’  list, or so you can tell others what you did, then ask
yourself,
    “Did I do what I did because God changed my heart?”

Pray,
“Thank you Heavenly Father for Your love for me.
I pray that you will sensitize my heart with Your
compassion, so I can love others as You love me.
Help me to show love to others, and to You, so I
will know You and You will know me. Remold me
so 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. Help me to love like Jesus
loves me, and to allow Your love to flow through me
to others.”

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