Monday, January 14, 2013

Food for the Soul – Part 1, Love


Have you ever taken the time to give thought to what your perception of love really is?

What does the word “love” mean to you logically and/or spiritually?

Where do you think love comes from? Or even the concept of love?

Do you give your love to others freely or does your love come with conditions?

Is love everlasting in your life or is it only a temporary measure?

I am a Christian. My understanding of love is that it comes from God and that God pours his love out onto us through his only begotten son Jesus Christ. This is a truth based on the teachings of my faith. If this is in fact a truth in Christian communities, then why do so many Christians find it difficult to show love…the purest form of love? What causes us to fall into the rut of giving and receiving love that often leads to feelings of being short changed? That is not a pure form of Love. That is not the love that God has given and continues to give to us so freely. That form of love is what many people have determined to be “a chemical reaction in the brain”, much like eating chocolate, taking some sort of euphoric drug or hormonal changes…who knows. What a depressing way to think of this precious gift. Isn’t love greater than that? How is it that God has given us the commandment to love, but we have not taken the time to fully understand what he means? If we don’t understand God’s commandment to love, then how will we know if we are giving His pure love to others?
            This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

I John 4:8 (NKJV)

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
John 15:9 (NKJV)

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

I tend to think in pictures most of the time and when I think of humanity, I picture the masses in a very congested, grey, miserable kind of pit-like place. For miles and miles all you can see are groupings of people muttering around complaining about this thing and the other. They recklessly meander around in their own miserable state not necessarily hurting one another, but ready to devour any unsuspecting new comer, much like a school of Parana. It seems as if humanity viciously rejects change, holding steadfast to that which they know and are most comfortable with. Humanity at large cannot fathom true happiness or any measure of peace. They say they want these things, but are powerless to obtain them; clueless as to how to retrieve these gifts from our source…God.

Now here we are with the love of God, a love that can conquer all things. This love is not forced upon us, but given to us as a gift. God’s love is readily available for the taking and endless in supply. We think we are showing love, but instead we are utilizing a fleshly cerebrally stimulating occurrence that makes us feel ‘love-like’ for short periods of time. These short periods of time can last as little as a few seconds to as much as a few years, but its affects are only temporary at best.
Job 8:12 (NKJV)

While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant.

God’s love is everlasting. It grows over time and fills us to the point of overflowing. God’s love does not hurt, lie, cheat or steal. God’s love is like the fruit that ripens and is given to us to eat. Food nourishes our bodies and God’s love nourishes our spirits.
Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV)

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
 Galatians 5:22 (KJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

In order for us to fully receive the gift of God’s love, we need to be cleansed of all the gunk absorbed from the constant rubbing of elbows with sinful and negative energy so we may openly receive God’s love and share His true everlasting love with others. Some people are so blinded by sin that they don’t want to be delivered from misery. We are creatures of habit and so even in misery we find comfort because it is familiar to us. Don’t be afraid to stand apart from the murky mire of humanity. Relinquish yourselves to Christ Jesus who died upon the cross and saved us all from sin.  Ask that He come into you and cleans you and free you from that which binds you. Understand that you are God’s precious seed. Do not be like the reed or vine that sprang up in a dry desolate desert only to wither and die. Allow the Lord to plant you firmly in fertile ground that all of the goodness He has put into you be fruitful and multiply. It is by the blessing of God’s love, grace and mercy that you will be able to receive and give of His pure love. His love is the only love that will last forever.

Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV)

 
37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Ezekiel 17:5 (NKJV)

Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it in a fertile field; He placed it by abundant waters And set it like a willow tree.


 

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