This is an area that God has been teaching me a lot in. Love… I used to think love was when you feel all warm and toasty inside or when I felt good because of the way somebody treated or loved me. I would hear leaders and pastors constantly say that in every situation you need to ask the question, “What would love do?” and I’d think to myself, I know that! That makes sense! But I didn’t have a clue what real love was, I only knew what love on the basis of how I feel was.
I Cor. 3:1-3 basically says listen… I could own everything on the planet, I could have achieved more than any other human being on the planet, be more popular and influential than anyone on the planet, love what I see in the mirror, and yet if I don’t have love, I would have gained nothing. When I see things in that perspective I start to realize that if what I am doing with my life isn’t building the Kingdom of God and adding value to people, then ultimately it’s worthless. When I die, everything that wasn’t done in love and didn’t build the Kingdom of God will instantly burn up into a pile of ash before my eyes.
One of the greatest statements I’ve heard on love, I heard from Doug Jones. He said, “Love always does what is most beneficial for the other person.” I’m really coming to learn that Love is about giving yourself away. Laying down my wants, my desires, etc. in order to benefit another person. I like what Erwin McManus said, “Part of the product of Love is being aware of how our lives affects other people.”
Real love is about giving yourself away, laying down your desires to lift up somebody else’s, adding value to people regardless of whether or not you get anything in return… I could go on and on.
I constantly ask myself and encourage you to ask yourself:
- Are you overly focused on yourself?
- Do you treat people based on what they can do for you?
- Am I doing whats most beneficial for the people I love the most in everything I act, do, and say?
- What am I doing for the Kingdom of God and how will the way I treat this person impact their lives and their eternity
What would real love do?
One Response
awesome blog. More like this!