Love is...

My leading thought today is this: 
I love God and God is love so I love, love. 
What?

Yes. 1 John 4:8 says…”Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 

Okay, that makes sense but now what? If I say, ‘I love God’, I best be clear about what love is because as powerful as love is it’s also very easy to get wrong. As a Christian, my beliefs teach me that love is an action towards those who are not me. 
I get that but sometimes ‘action’ loving those around me is hard. Ok, a lot of times this is hard because selfish thoughts get in the way and I love those around me to get what I want. 

So today I decided I should revisit what God teaches me about what actions I should be taking to ‘action’ love people. Thankfully, it’s nicely lined out for me and for you in 
1Corinthians 13:4-7.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Wow, this is beautiful! 
Wow, this is hard!

It’s hard because selfishness teaches me to love me, where Jesus teaches the opposite. Jesus wants me to love those around me, and in 1Corinthians12 Paul teaches the same idea. We are to love others.

So to help make this hit even closer to home let’s try this: Replace the word love with your name, and keep in mind someone dear to you.

_____is patient, _____ is kind. _____does not envy, _____does not boast, _____is not proud. _____does not dishonor others, _____is not self-seeking, _____is not easily angered, _____keeps no record of wrongs. _____does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. _____always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

How do you feel? Humbled? Encouraged? 

Love is an action directed toward another. Make today an action-packed day. You’ll love it!

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