Making of a man/woman of God, part 3

Theme: Become a more loving person.  

How can you grow in love? 

1. Experience God’s love

You cannot give something you have not experienced. In order to love someone in the manner God loves them you have to experience God’s love first hand. One of the hardest lessons I have learned is that people who are far from God and who have in some cases never heard of or experienced God’s love can express love. A mother nursing her child or lovers sharing their first kiss is an expression of love. But it is a human level love, or what the Bible calls brotherly love. It is true, real, and genuine but believers have a supernatural ability to express a higher level of love. This is why Jesus said the world will know you are his disciples by the way you love other believers. Sadly, we have fallen short of that in the church but that should not prevent you from seeking to love others with God’s love. The only way you are going to be able to do that is to experience God’s love in a personal way on a regular basis. Daily wash yourself in God’s love so it will overflow to others.

2. Change the way you think about love 

You will never love others with God’s love unless you think differently about love. You must be convinced that love is an action not a feeling, that you chose to love someone not accidentally fall in love with them. You have to get the focus off of yourself and onto God and your neighbor. One of the reasons Jesus taught you to deny yourself and take up your cross is because your flesh hinders you from love. You crucify your flesh so that God’s love can flow through you.

I find it interesting that when Jesus taught to love your neighbor he did not chose someone who looked, believed, or acted like them. He chose someone of a different race, culture, and religion. Your neighbor is not someone who lives next door to you, who looks like you, and acts like you. Your neighbor, in Jesus’ story, was from a different culture, race, and religion. To love like God loves you have to get out of your comfort zone and love someone who is different than you are. Be proactive, take the initiative and seek to love someone that looks and acts differently from you.

3. Seek to love the unloveable person in your life

Jesus taught in Luke 6: 27 –28: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” These are easy verses to teach but hard teaching to live.

Loving your enemy means to love the person who has harmed you or means to harm you. Loving your enemy means loving the person who mistreats your family. Loving your enemy is a God level, supernatural love, but it is the kind of love that separates the men from the boys. Jesus said anybody can love people who love them but only people who have received God’s love can truly love their enemies

Jesus commands you to do good to those who hate you. Hate is a strong word. This person is at odds with you may have done bad to you. Men/women of God do not live to get even. Men/women of God do not keep a record of wrongs, they keep short accounts. They take the high road, walk the narrow path. Do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. I have a question for you, who is on your prayer list? Does it go beyond your family and friends? Does it include those who have mistreated you? Years ago, I decided to pray for someone who was out to get me. Every time I drove by the place they worked or by their home, I would ask God to bless them. It took a long time but eventually my heart changed towards that person. It is difficult to stay angry at a person you are praying for. Then after even more time, their heart changed towards me. Today they are not my enemy, they are my friend. God’s love turns your enemies into friends. God’s love transforms your heart and hopefully, eventually, theirs.

 Now for a little disclaimer loving a person is not the same as enabling that person. Love does not enable someone to participate in self destructive activities and it does not mean to enable someone to participate in behaviors that are harmful to others. Remember love speaks the truth. I read one time when you have to confront someone be hard on the issue but soft on the person.

There are many things you can aspire to be or do in this life. I hope you aspire to become a more loving person. My desire for you is not fame or fortune but that you will become rich in relationships and famous to those who know you the best. My vision for your life is that when you come to the end of yours, that you will be surrounded by people who love you and people you loved greatly.