So, as I read The Furious Longing of God, he talks about how the greatest thing we can do is love one another. But, what is love? Love (lŭv)
A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness
But, I'm not sure that this is a good definition to look at if we look at John 15:12 Love each other as I have loved you. What about those people we find to be unlovable. Are we supposed to fake our feelings of affection and solicitude? I guess the real problem is whether we are submitting ourselves and abiding in Jesus Christ. When we are abiding we will know we are doing wrong to those who we feel unlovable and if we are abiding we will not feel bad thoughts towards them? Grace? Maybe we do not enjoy being in their presence... Maybe we have to lay down our own selves and look not only to our own interests but also into the interests of others? So, when we do this, lowering ourselves, making others greater than ourselves what do we get? There was a time I was riding back from Nashville with a buddy Nick and another girl that I found to be super annoying. She was talking the whole time, rambling on and on... I remember him buying into it all, I was sitting in the backseat laughing and I could not believe what she was saying... They sounded like all lies to me. Later I sent him a message that said "That was all a load of BS." he replied "I hope not." See, I think he was loving her for who she was no matter whether they were lies or not... I was pissed, I wouldn't have/didn't/don't like the girl. Then I ask myself how was I supposed to be able to like her? Well, I guess the answer is in Jesus. I suppose I am a little turd myself and some people have a super hard time loving me. But, Jesus loved me, and you, and everyone no matter what. This has turned into more of a Grace thing rather than love. Maybe what I'm getting at is that it takes a incredible amount of grace to love someone. When we screw up it's almost expected, when we are screw ups its expected. This hasn't answered my question to what love is, only explained and revealed to myself how much grace is involved in Love.
This is overwhelming to actually think about what love is and try to find words to explain what it is.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
God is love, whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. 1 John 4:16
Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:4
1 John 4: 7-21 It talks about God's love for us and ours for him and others. Let us love one another, for love comes from God. It talks about how God sent his son that we might live through him. That's a sacrifice, God sacrificed something he loved, to give out more love?... Not that we loved but that he loved us... Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us his spirit. This goes back to the abiding part, if we are living in him we will want to love... We know and rely on the love God has for us... Maybe he is talking about our significance that comes from God, the need of no one else because God has loved us... But, the need for us to love others? maybe that is so we can experience even more love that God has for us. If we put ourselves in his shoes, loving everyone, maybe we can experience more of him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears in not made perfect in love. I feel that I have always been afraid that in love, if I did something, someone wouldn't love me. But I found out that is not true, this goes back to the part about grace. There is so much grace in love and love in grace. It's a wild concept to me. Whoever loves God must also love his brother. I believe I am one to try to get around this, by only loving some of those brothers of mine. The rest I am kind to while in person, but do not particularly like being around. But, I have noticed change in that recently. Which is something I have been very intentional about, as I feel it is important.
I am still pretty sure I have not yet found out exactly what love is but i have an idea and continue to work on that. I know that it is not only what I used to think it was, it still may be some of those things. But, I realize now that it is not solely those few things and that there is so much more to it!
William Nathan Dale
(sorry for this entry being more of a journal and less of a ughh, actually it's my blog, I'll write about whatever I want to...) But seriously thanks for taking time to read about how I feel, think and believe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvJO6W7MFMI
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