Matthew 22:37-40 GNT ³⁷ Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the most important commandment.  The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

I John 4:19-21 GNT  We love because God first loved us.  If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also.”

Love. A simple 4 letter word that changes us and everything around us. I believe that if all of the churches would teach this simple but profound truth, it would change the world. But how can we love if we don’t know Love. God is Love. People have such a twisted and perverted concept of what love is. It’s been left out of our homes, churches and schools for so long that we’re seeing a generation of believers who have no idea of what love looks like. It’s God. We’ve been taught about a ‘mean’ God, one who sits on his throne just waiting for us to mess up so he can zap us with his scepter, but that’s not God because God is Love. 

So we continue our search for love, looking to this thing and to that thing hoping that someone will love us, only to be disappointed each time, coming away feeling empty and lonely once again. When we were created to love God with all our hearts, to sit in his presence and allow him to lavish his love upon us, to infuse us with his DNA which is LOVE. He called us to be like him, LOVE. Jesus said to follow him and learn of him and he would show us the way to have relationship with God, the exchange of love, the demonstration of love. Our response, “I’ll find my own way! Your way is too hard! I just want to be like the rest of my friends!” You want to be like the rest of your friends who are empty, longing, searching for this love that has been freely given to you? My dear, we are commanded to love and people around us are waiting for that love we carry inside of us. 

Christ in me the hope of glory. What is that glory? Love and the power of love that changes us and the world around us. We must learn to love. Nothing I ever do will be effective for the Kingdom of God without it. 

I Corinthians 13:1-3 GNT says; I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.  I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains—but if I have no love, I am nothing.  I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned—but if I have no love, this does me no good.

I don’t know about you, but I HAVE to love. I have to get up every morning and drink of Love, commune with Love and fill my tank up with Love. I cannot run on empty, sputtering fumes and hoping that I make some sort of difference in the world. I must be Love. More of Love, less of me. My desire is to show this God to the world. He has so much to teach me about Himself, I have to come away and be with my Love. I cannot love you, my husband, my children, I cannot love my neighbor or myself without this deep abiding presence of Love. It draws me, woos me, ‘Come away, my beloved, learn of me. I love you with an everlasting love. My love is so deep, an endless supply. Drink of me and when you do, you’ll never thirst again.’