Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it's own way. Love is not irritibale and keeps no record of when it has beeen wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices in the truth. Love never gives up, never loses faitth, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

Love does not demand it's own way...
Love doesn't always mean getting what you want. Love often looks like death. Jesus loved us so much that he died so that we might be free and gain life through his death. Often when we think of love, we think of laughter, joy and roses. These are parts of love. But sometimes love means letting go of the things that we want, letting go of our desires, and sacrificing them for the benefit of others. Romans 12 says to take delight in honoring one another in love. Love is often doing what is hard, not what is easy. We have made love so romantic, we have made it something so light and airy. But deep love is not so much romantic as it is sacrificial. And the greatest example of this love is Christ's love for his bride. Do you think it was easy to give up his will, his fear, his comfort? Do you think he found it easy to die for people who may never even love him back? It says he was sweating blood in the garden as he prayed asking God to "take this cup away from me" before he went to the cross. That's hard love. That's perfect love.

Father teach us to walk in perfect love.

"Love Me"

I came across this on John Eldridges blog today. It inspired me. We often go through questioning times...and often the answer seems unclear. But God is always asking us "Love Me".

A Valentine's Day Story
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her" (Matthew 26:6-13)
Often as I move through my day, trying to navigate the whirlpools of this world, the relational, spiritual and social whitewater, I will often turn to Jesus in my heart and ask, "What do I need to do, Lord?" My question is usually fueled by some twist or turn I don't know how to handle - some test or trial, some oncoming battle. Life as usual. His response is nearly always, "Love me."
That's it? Love you?
That's it. That is what is most needed.
For when I love God, my whole being is re-oriented, re-aligned, healed. When I love God, the internal effects are almost immediate; they are often profound. I can't hold onto that grudge, not while I am loving God with "all that is within me." I can't covet or worry or fear. When I love God, really, it changes everything.
And this is why he said, start here. This is core. Love me.