It's all about LOVE

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..