Love is not reciprocal; love is sacrificial. Look at the verses above. A lot of the time, a couple of those are REALLY difficult for me.
(If you have started opening your Bible, make sure you look up the verses and underline them!)
We all tend to love “if you” or “when you”… right? If you do this____I’ll be able to love you. You don’t love me…you never_____. Are you with …me? We wait for something to allow ourselves to love. We want to make SURE that person will love us back. I think that’s mostly because we are in such a broken world. Most people have been hurt by friends or family and that has caused us to put up a wall.
“Try to show as much compassion as your Father does” Luke 6:36
Jesus asks us to love sacrificially. When I think of the word sacrifice. I think pain, hurt, uncomfortable. What do you think of? We ARE expected to love EVEN WHEN it is uncomfortable. Even when the person might not feel the same. Think of the people that are in Rwanda. They continue, through God’s love, to forgive each other in such amazing ways. A neighbor forgives another for killing HIS ENTIRE FAMILY. That is continually happening through Christ! Now, you can’t tell me (if you live in the US) there is no hope for you loving unconditionally. If God can help people love others who have killed there wives and children/ husbands and mothers, etc… Whatever you have gone through…It’s possible. Now, I’m not discounting what you have gone through. A lot of you have gone through death, abuse, rape, and the list goes on. I am VERY sorry for all you’ve been through and my heart breaks for your pain. Speaking from experience…it IS possible to forgive and love those people, as God’s children, again.
Remember, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. The Bible doesn’t say it’s the verse to use at weddings, thought it fits. These verses are to guide us with everyone, everyday.
What I learned today…I need to work on more of the above, daily.
What I Learned Today... 