God is love.
That is something that i have been taught in church. It is true. The Word
itself says “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16).
i believe
in the Word of God and therefore i believe in this Scripture also. And
sometimes i may see a glimpse of what it means. But at the moment, i feel like
the Lord is telling me i do not have a clue about the meaning of love. In 1
John 4:18 the Word says that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love
casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has
not been perfected in love.” i have a huge problem with anxiety. Have been
living in anxiety all my life, and lately it seems like my anxiety has outdone
itself. It runs deep into my soul and it’s crippling me emotionally and
physically. So when the Lord told me i need to have a better understanding of
love, His love, it did make sense. i have been hurt a lot in the past and it isn’t
till recently that i was able to open up about those past hurts. Yeah
sometimes i was able to speak up about a couple of things, but i never really
dared to look at my life line and see all the hurtful events for what they
truly were. Painful. Damaging. Frightening. Unsteady. Those hurtful, damaging
events taught me that love was not real. That at the very least it was not real
for me. So yeah, when the Lord started pointing out His love for me, i was
hesitatingly and wary. God loving me, it was too good to be true. And
even though He taught me that His love for me was not dependent on my believe
in the possibility of Him loving me… i learned to believe He loved me, but had
no clue what it really meant to be loved by my Heavenly Father. Somewhere deep
down i remained scared that His love would run out, if only… i would do this or
make that mistake or … (maybe you can relate and fill in something for
yourself). And to be honest those
thoughts still cross my mind, a lot. So
yeah, fear and anxiety is still around, even though i believe in the Heavenly
Father who is the Maker of Heaven and Earth and chose to make me and love me as
His child.
i am in
need of change. i am desperately in need of getting a better understanding of
God’s love for me. But yeah, .. where to start?
i started
with prayer and asking people to pray with me. And then i dove into the Word.
Looking up Scriptures about love. And as i was reading those Scriptures, i
thought i could do with making a list of all the things i learned about love. i
love to share a little of this list with you. Maybe it encourages someone,
maybe it is a conversation starter (i know i’d like to know about your insights
about God’s love), … i don’t know what it could be good for, but i like to
share it with you.
The very
first Scripture i found on my journey was 1 Corinthians 13… The LOVE chapter in
God’s Word. This Scripture taught me:
Love is
patient
Love is
kind
Love does
not envy
Love does
not boast
Love is not
proud
Love does
not dishonor others
Love is not
self-seeking
Love is not
easily angered
Love keeps
no record of wrongs
Love does
not delight in evil
Love
rejoices with the truth
Love always
protects
Love always
trusts
Love always
hopes
Love always
perseveres
Love never
fails
And
Colossians 3:14 speaks of the love that binds all (all virtues, but also all
people) together in perfect unity.
And 1
Corinthians 16:14 speaks of the importance of doing all things in love. i find
comfort in knowing that God does all things in love. In perfect love. We humans
may make a lot of mistakes, we mess up like all the time… But God never falls
short. He is love and therefore is able to do all things in perfect love and He
is willing to help us do the same. Because when we love one another, it is our
Heavenly Father Who is glorified.
What are
your favorite Scriptures on love?
i would
love to hear about them.
i’d like to
close up this blog post with my wish that we all would get a better
understanding of God’s love for us, and the people around us. For it is because
of His love that we are free. As John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” i know love may seem like an utopia. Like
something that is based upon a myth, made of pixie dust. i know a lot of us are
hurt in many ways and therefore have a blurred vision on love. i know i do. But
i hope that you won’t let that blurred vision of love, keep you from experiencing
the amazing, perfect love God has for you. You are LOVED. Even when you don’t
know what it means, just yet..
