What I Learned About Loving

We took on a challenge to pour out Christ's love to others on Valentine's Day.

My "big thing" was to stay nights {Friday-Tuesday of my February break week}

 with my great-grandmother so my grandparents could go on an impromptu trip to visit a sick family member.

Sounds sacrificial, doesn't it?

Not really. 

The routine was so simple and her care so basic, that I almost felt ashamed. 

"I seriously thought this would be a great way to show Christ's love to others?  I feel as if I'm hardly doing anything! I'm sure the other girls are doing great and wonderful acts of love.

And what am I doing?? 

Sitting on a couch crocheting while watching a Hallmark movie.

Nothing sacrificial about that!"

Wednesday morning came.

 I went through the morning routine, packed everything I'd brought with me for spending the night, hugged Great-Nana goodbye, and locked the door behind me. 

I went home, and sat down to write about how I poured out Christ's sacrificial love.

But I still felt I hadn't done all that much. 

It had been a great opportunity, but it seemed like such a trivial one. 

And then it hit me.

Loving others isn't always a huge sacrifice that takes away from my comfort and down time.

Loving isn't just a step of obedience that we as Christians are supposed to take.

It's seeing people with God's eyes and loving them with His love.

It's taking every opportunity, whether large or small, to love others to Christ.

The opportunity doesn't have to be big.

It can be little, too. 

That's what I learned about love.

Love with All

What prompted me to write this post? The fact that so many of us love the verse but so few of us understand what it really means or apply it to our lives.

So, first, let's read the verse:

Deut. 6:5 

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

The commandment is repeated by Christ:

Luke 10:27

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.



Wonderful!

And, too many times, we stop there. Today we're going further.

What it means:

Both the Hebrew and Greek words for love in these verses mean "love." 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a list of characteristics of love; Galatians 5 says love is a fruit of the Spirit; there are many passages of the Bible that talk about love. Here we see love in a command: to love with all our hearts, souls, might, and minds.


Love with all your heart.

The Hebrew word for "heart" in Deut. means "courage, mind, understanding." The Greek means "thoughts, mind, middle."

Love, with all your courage. {Love is courageous.}
Love, with all your mind. {Thoughts should be loving.}
Love, with all your understanding. {Understand that since God loves us, we are to love others.}
Love deeply. {You know the part that aches when your heart is broken? That's the part we are to love with.}


Love with all your soul.

The Hebrew word for "soul" in Deut. means "life, vitality, desire, content, self." The Greek means "spirit, vitality."

Love, with the all the life that God has given you.
Love, with all the vitality you can muster.
Love. It should be what you desire.
Love; this should satisfy you.
Love, with all yourself.


Love with all your might.

The Hebrew word for "might" in Deut. means "vehemence, intensity, diligence, exceed{ingly}, far, fast, good, great, loud, utterly, very." The Greek word for "strength" means "forcefulness, ability, might, power, strength, with much work."

Love vehemently.
Love intensely.
Love diligently.
Love exceedingly.
Love far.
Love immediately.
Love greatly.
Love utterly.
Love with all your force.
Love with all your ability.
Love with all your might.
Love with all your power.
Love with all your strength.
Love, with work.


Love with all your mind.

The Greek word for "mind" means "deep thought, exercise of the mind, imagination, understanding."

Love, taking thought for whom and why you are loving.
Love, imagining the other person's situation.
Love, understanding that since God loves us, we are to love others.


And the verse doesn't end there. Jesus goes on to say:

"...and love thy neighbor as thyself."

LOVE.

Pouring out...

Pouring out love, not anger. 

That's something I had to do the day before Wednesday, because I was in the confined car with two other people, and you know how that can be. Anything gets on my nerves in that situation, but I determined not to let that get the best of me. I also determined to have a wwjd attitude.

And that was hard.

But it reminded me that I love my brother more than my DSI, meaning that even if he ever did completely destroy what I spent lots of hard-earned money on, I still wouldn't give up on him by blowing up. With love, I still wouldn't have that right. {Which he didn't break it at all, by the way}

And that brings me to a great Valentine's Day story. It's a story of a guy who truly loved his girl more than any work or possession.

Read it here.

What a cool story! Something I didn't notice before is that Jacob worked for seven years after her married Rachel, which shows that he probably forgave Laban for his deception.

Suppressing rage is pouring out love, and that's one of the ways I poured out love and gave of myself this Valentine's Day.

A Revolutionary Valentine's Day

*Note: this post is a collage of our discussion from girls' group; it is not specifically by one author.

This past girls' group, we redefined Valentine's Day:

Valentine's Day is...

John 15:1-13

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If a man abide not in me, the same is cast forth as as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my  love; even as I have kept my Father's commandment, and abide in his love.

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

This is my commandment, that ye love one another.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Well, those verses have alot in them! Our goal is to keep these commandment verses in mind!

The following is a list of characteristics of love from 1 Corinthians 13. As you read this list {preferably out loud}, insert your name very time the word "love" appears. Does this list truly describe you?

If the list did not truly describe you, note the specific areas that you need to work on, and make a conscience choice to work on those areas. But, as we read in John 15, we cannot do it on our own; we must abide in Christ!

Our definition of Valentine's Day prompts us not only give out cards, but pour out ourselves! True love is following the outline given in 1 Corinthians 13. True, authentic love begins in the heart, and fills us so much that it pours out on others.

This is revolutionary! If we all recognized this,  how different our lives would be! List specifically what ways you will pour out yourself to others on Valentine's Day. And don't stop there; love goes beyond Valentine's Day!

Rubber Bands and Me

The other day I got a rubber band put in my mouth. It attaches my top braces to my bottom braces, in such a way that it will pull my bottom teeth to the left.

I've been thinking about it. I am actually starting to see a lot of analogies for my life from the rubber band in my mouth. :)

A rubber band is elastic-y. Even when it is stretched out, it will bounce right back to its original shape. {Too} many times I will become very angry when I am "stretched." My "stretching" can really be anything from a trial to my brother accidentally getting into my stuff to gossip that is spread about me. Too many times I react in a harsh way, such as yelling or what have you.

However, God's Word tells me to do things much differently. There is no need for my anger or harsh reaction; there is need for my forgiveness, compassion, mercy, and understanding.

Of course, I must forgive whoever has done me wrong.

Then came Peter unto him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

~Matthew 18:21-22

I must show love to that person.

This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.

~John 15:11

That's definitely a challenge. We have done so much to hurt Him, yet He shows love. Immense love. And He commands us to do the same to others, whether they hurt us or not.

I must show purity, peaceableness, gentleness, openness, mercy, and the fruits of the Spirit to that person with the right attitude.

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of the righteous is sown in peace of them that make peace.

~James 3:16-18

I should try to relate to that person.

And as ye would do that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

~Luke 6:31

Well, that sums up a great challenge for my week. I personally am going to write these things down on an index card and keep it in my pocket, so that every time my tongue touches that rubber band, I will read it and remember. And ask God to fill me with His Spirit, 'cuz it's not gonna happen naturally. :)