Love

Love

The greatest commandment is to love (Matthew 22:37-39). We are to love God with our entire being and love people as much as God loves us. But to understand the love we must display to others, we must first understand the love that God has for us. "To love your neighbor as yourself" is so much more than that. It is to love your neighbor as God loves you.

In Romans 8 Paul describes the love of God as deep, wide, unconditional, and more powerful than anything you could ever imagine. God loves you with an all-encompassing love. He loves you so much that he sent his son to die for you, even though you do not deserve it. We do not deserve to wake up, have food, friends, clothes, or even life. But God loves you that much. We see his abounding and ferocious love on display every day. There is no way to even begin to comprehend how much God loves you.

Imagine loving yourself that much. Imagine forgiving yourself every day and not living in guilt and shame. Let love shine in your life. Be a broken vessel. Pour your love out through your cracks. We are all incredibly stained by sin, but when love shines through, we create beautiful  stained glass windows. Our sin, our brokenness, can become beautiful. Lay down your pride, so you can love. Lay down your guilt, so you can love. Your shame, fear, regrets, past, everything. Lay everything down at the feet of Jesus. And then go and be free to love others. Love others as much as God loves you.

Love can be scary. I am scared of lots of things that God has put in front of me. I am scared of publishing this blog, but I did it anyways or else you wouldn’t be reading it. I am scared of making new friends and losing old ones. I am scared of offending people. I am scared of not displaying God's love properly. I am terrified of these and so many more things. But, I am not going to let that stand in my way of loving people. When you have found true love, there will be no fear. When you love from God's heart, you do not need to be afraid. For, as 1 John 4:18 says, there is no fear in love. Maybe you are like me. Maybe you are afraid to love for whatever reason. But, I have found that God makes a garden in the places that we thought barren. He will let love flourish in your life, if you just let him in.

Do not be afraid to love. You are loved so much and there is no fear in perfect love.  Love people like God loves, unconditionally and completely. Start small. Say hello to someone, invite them to coffee, write them an encouraging note. Let your love shine out into the community. Remember, God never runs out of love, so do not be afraid to pour yourself out onto people. Pour your little clay jar out onto the world and trust that God will always fill you back up.

Much love, Lydia