Hi Friends
I pray you have had a blessed week thus far
It has been a little while since I’ve written … so much going on
I have actually had this post in my mind for several days - as I think about the situations currently occurring and
those that have transpired over the past few years
THIS HAS BEEN A TIME
OF GREAT LEARNING …
THIS HAS BEEN A TIME
OF GREAT HUMBLING …
THIS HAS BEEN A TIME OF GREAT GROWTH ...
And, in the midst of it
all –
I keep receiving regular reminders of the fragility of human
life
I am becoming increasingly & keenly aware of how quickly
things can change – in an instant
I am identifying more and more the things which truly matter
to me
Earlier this year,
I spent quite a bit of time on the subject of LOVE
It was appropriate as those series of posts occurred around
Valentine’s Day
HOWEVER –
This love thing is so much bigger than a day on a calendar
It is so much bigger than a season or time of year
EVERYTHING in this
world [and beyond this world] hinges on LOVE
The presence of it … or the absence of it
Every genuine act of compassion … the presence of love
Every hate-filled rant, every despicable act of violence … a
result of a lack of love
I was on a site earlier which asked its readers to define
love in five words
If I had to sum it up in five words – this thing called LOVE
– it would be this:
LOVE FOR GOD, SELF
& OTHERS
All three loves are
important
- · It is impossible to love others as yourself … if you do not first love yourself
- · It is impossible to love yourself without first receiving the love of God and being in a love relationship with Him
- · It is impossible to live this life in any sort of meaningful way without the love of GOD
There is a spot in each one of us that only He can fill.
There have been countless situations which have tried to
steal all of these things from me –
LOVE FOR GOD, SELF
& OTHERS
Yet, I will not surrender them so easily
AMAZING LOVE ...
I love my children – and I cannot imagine any situation
which would ever change that
Yet – it is that type of love which I see developing in my
heart for others
It is being formed and fashioned through experiences that I
will not go into detail discussing
It is mind-blowing and it has me thinking a great deal about
the love Jesus has for us
The love which kept Him moving toward the cross … for me …
and for you
- I imagine – for those guards who were close enough to hear Jesus mutter the words, ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)’ – I imagine they thought to themselves, ‘Fool!’
- As He looked through blood-caked eyes toward the criminal that hung on a cross beside Him, and as He offered the assurance, ‘Today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:33-43)’ … I imagine that other criminal hanging on the other cross to the other side thought, ‘Idiot!’
Yet, none of that deterred Jesus in His love for those
individuals and for all of humanity.
I believe He also does not desire for us to be deterred when
it comes to love
I LOVE THE LORD
I do not love Him perfectly, but I do love Him sincerely and
I will never apologize for it
I LOVE MYSELF
I have not always loved myself, but I have reached a point
where I love me dearly
I will not apologize for that either
I LOVE OTHERS
And again, it may not be perfect. Indeed, many might call it
foolish
However, I can see an earnest love developing deep within my
heart … a love for people
A LOVE INEXPLICABLE …
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