But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that i received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
-Acts 20:24
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Greater Love
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:12-13
Loving others can be hard to do! When I struggle loving my perfect God, I know that I will definitely struggle loving other sinners. This commandment can seem impossible on many days! I used to wonder how love is measured... How much is enough? How do I know when I am loving with my whole heart, mind, and soul? How do I know that I am loving others? Recently, I was reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan; one of the chapters focused on loving others. Mr. Chan wrote that he couldn't fully understand what living love looked like in his life, until he read 1 Corinthians 13 from a different perspective. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Francis Chan replaced the term 'love' with his name, and then reread the passage. I thought that I was usually a loving person until I did the same. Wow, I was mistaken! Remembering that Christ perfectly fulfilled this commandment made me fall even more deeply in love with my Saviour!
Eden! Crazy Love is my favorite book next to the Bible and has had a huge impact on my relationship with Christ! Reading it does change how we view God's love for us and our love for Him. I would encourage you to keep pressing on! Loving others is difficult especially when we aren't receiving love in return. But it is part of the process of becoming more like Christ! When you struggle with know how much to love others look to Christ as an example for He is the perfect example of how we are to love others!! <3 J
Loving others can be hard to do! When I struggle loving my perfect God, I know that I will definitely struggle loving other sinners. This commandment can seem impossible on many days! I used to wonder how love is measured... How much is enough? How do I know when I am loving with my whole heart, mind, and soul? How do I know that I am loving others? Recently, I was reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan; one of the chapters focused on loving others. Mr. Chan wrote that he couldn't fully understand what living love looked like in his life, until he read 1 Corinthians 13 from a different perspective. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Francis Chan replaced the term 'love' with his name, and then reread the passage. I thought that I was usually a loving person until I did the same. Wow, I was mistaken! Remembering that Christ perfectly fulfilled this commandment made me fall even more deeply in love with my Saviour!
ReplyDeleteEden! Crazy Love is my favorite book next to the Bible and has had a huge impact on my relationship with Christ! Reading it does change how we view God's love for us and our love for Him. I would encourage you to keep pressing on! Loving others is difficult especially when we aren't receiving love in return. But it is part of the process of becoming more like Christ! When you struggle with know how much to love others look to Christ as an example for He is the perfect example of how we are to love others!!
ReplyDelete<3 J