L...O...V...E...
Love is something that songs are sang about, movies are made about and books are written about... love is ´everywhere´... but is it really????
In the last week, we as Southbound were so priviledged and blessed with some time to relax, go our own way... a bit of a ´holiday´if i can call it that! The group split up, some went to Columbia, some to Quito and some of us stayed in Mancora, along the Peruvian coast, where we had finished debriefing! Mancora is a beautiful beach town, a lot of tourists and lots of small restaurants and coffeeshops!
I was part of the group that stayed in Mancora! I just really wanted to relax these few days, spend time in the Word, hear God´s voice, have fun and read! So thats exactly what i did! :)
In this time, i finished reading the book The Calvary Road ... i would recommend every single person to read it! It is all about personal revival! And what it is all about! Several times in the book is talks about love... love between you and God and love between you and the people around you...and how those two are actually directly linked! If we dont love God, we will not love our neighbours. I mean, God who is All,is Holiness, is Righteousness, is Honesty, is Truth and who is Love... if you can´t love that, how could you love someone that is not even close to the Perfection God is!?! And if you can´t love your neighbours, how can you truly love God who commands us to love one another?!
In this time, God really spoke to me about love, and love for people around me. At this time, i was also in a process with God (which is continual,not once off) of God showing me the sin in my life! (The book also teaches you a lot about sin, and what that involves... i love the chapter Protesting Our Innocence?) So the one morning i was sitting outside on our balcony, and God gave me 1 John 3! What is that about?! God is love, to love one another, and it talks about our sins!
It first tells us (v1) who we are... we are members of God´s family! Then in v2 tells us who we are becoming... reflections of God! Then in the rest of the chapter it tells us what we have as we grow to resemble God... victory over sin (v4-9), love for others (v10-18) and confidence before God (v19-24)!
In order for us to resemble God, we need to love. Love deeply, love kindly, love without wanting something in return, love even when done wrong, love unconditionally... That is real love. It is not reacting with anger when someone does us wrong, it is not keeping your R10 for a chocolate when someone else has no bread, it is not standing with your arms full when there is someone that needs help!
Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving! The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others! How do we do that? By serving them... in whichever way God has called for you to serve. And not wanting something in return! Your treasures are in Heaven!
Sometimes it is much easier to say that we will die for someone than to truly LIVE for them!
Love today by listening, helping, encouraging or giving!
We all know 1 Cor 13... Love is patient, love it kind... But if we look into ourselves we will all see that we are failing to love as God loves... i certainly do! May we meditate on the love God gives us, and make ourselves daily sacrifices to love others as we should... Re-read 1 Cor 13 and seek that in your own life! Dont feel guilty for what you have not done, for there is no condemnation in Christ... just set your heart on God´s love! He knows your heart, your motives and your actions!
So... like 1 Cor 13:13 says... ¨And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.¨
One of God´s ways to express His love... :)... the views!