Its just as I feared. I am now finally going to write about a topic that I feel I know very little about--L-O-V-E. After several seasons of hopping in and out of meaningless casual relationships and a couple of serious relationships that blew up in my face I really consider myself ill-equipped to talk about love. If I had a loving and lovely wife or significant other in my life, I'd probably feel a little more equipped. But as it is, nope--for romantic love, at least.
So how in the world can I talk about a heart of love?
The heart of love I'm referring to is the heart of love that God wants me to have for others. Its the kind of love that Jesus spoke of when he said "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Notice that this is a pro-active command. It does not say do not do unto others as you would have them not do unto you (passive). Rather, it is active. It involves "us" initiating (doing) the love. Just as Christ did for us. (Romans 5:8)
How then do we grow an "active" heart of love? There are several steps. Allow me to elaborate on the first one for now.
Pride must be laid aside in our character. This is the first and most difficult step. Why? Simply, because we've been born into a cruel and judgmental world where we have been trained to use pride and ego as shields and weapons to protect us.
How then do I lay aside my pride? The application here for me is that I must always be ready to help and to aid, to comfort and to lead, with no thought for myself. Even if this means having to undergo some discomfort/awkwardness, do something I normally wouldn't do because of my status/rank/level/social class or even just preference, or even as simple as reaching out in compassion or affection to someone without the guarantee that it will be reciprocated; thus exposing me and causing myself to become vulnerable. These cannot be done without the laying aside of pride.
I must learn to see others as God sees them, with a heart of love and compassion.
I must remain humble and not judge the circumstances or character of people that God brings into my life--God alone is the judge. As a mere servant I am not qualified to do this (judge).
I must be willing to love and help everyone regardless of their circumstance or character. Easier said than done though. I'm sure you'll agree that its easy to love if most of the time you're surrounded by "lovable" people. But what about those not so "lovable" ones that work their way into your life? This is where I am often times tested by the Lord. As such I have to often remind myself that 1)no one is unworthy of love and help or beyond it because I serve a gracious God with whom nothing is impossible 2)and more importantly, I have to remember that it is God alone who chooses the persons that He wants to bring into our lives (lovable or otherwise) therefore: if they are there in your life now God chose them to be there and they are worthy of all your love, help, aid, comfort and leadership.
God is sovereign. By His grace, love and power that was demonstrated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we now live guarded lives as Christians. In a guarded life there are no accidents, no chance happenings, nothing wasted. The people God allows in our lives, whether lovable or otherwise, are worthy and deserving of our love. They are divine appointments set by God for us--let's make the most of these appointments by responding to them with a heart of love.
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