Love is the yearning of our inner soul, that’s why man longs to Love and to be loved. Love is what holds families, friendships and church communities together. Love is warm, beautiful and celebrated. It encourages and reaffirms. It heals and restores relationships, it mends and propels marriages forward. It sees past our imperfections and differences, it unites divided churches. Love is more than just a powerful word or emotion, it’s an ACTION! The very reason God the Father sent His son to die for us.
When I think about life without Love, it’s hard for me to imagine experiencing any real form of happiness. Only missing out on the fullness of life, missing out on the very thing I exist for. TO LOVE! Really… If we begin to think and picture our world without Love, what would we really have? What could we really hold, cherish or esteem? What could we be proud of?
Lets look at Love from an inwardly focused perspective (self-centered Love). I believe it is healthy and important for us to Love who we are and who God made us to be. But this kind of Love can also be dangerous. It can cause us to be proud, too good for others and selfish. Remember, This exact attitude was what caused Lucifer to be removed from heaven as an angel! You see, God is Love, God gives Love freely and we were made in His image, so there is Love in us. (So God created humans in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27). Since we were created in God’s image, and God gives Love freely, we are also to give Love freely. (God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. 1 John 4:8).
Love is a gift from God, a treasure that was meant to be shared!
Why is it that Love, in many cases is only given in exchange? Sadly, in reality, that is a large part of our societies view of Love. A passage in 1 John 4:19 says… “We love because God loved us first”. If we truly understood this passage we would give love freely. But why do we as people tend to hold, withdraw, or reserve our Love from others? (I’m referring to people other than our families).
We have FEAR OF REJECTION! At some time in our lives we all have experienced rejection, and the pain that comes from Love. But as I have heard it said… “It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all”. The simple fact is that Love eventually ends in pain. It hurt God our Father when He gave His one and only son Jesus, to suffer and die on a cross for our sins. But because of Love it was done. And because of Love Jesus wept for His friend Lazarus when He died. And because of His Love for us, He again weeps when someone dies without knowing Him and His incomparable Love!
So we say we Love unconditionally, but as we have all heard… “Actions speak louder than words”. This reminds me of a passage in 1 John 3:18 that says.. “My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action”. What this says to me is that showing love through words is great, but It’s our ACTIONS that make the real difference!
Our Love for others can’t just be something we talk about, it’s something we need to be about! Our Love for others needs to be seen and felt, without saying a word!
My prayer for us is that we begin to Love like Jesus. Remembering that His Love for us is true Love, given freely.
From The Heart, Dan Chavez
More Than Just A Word
Love is the yearning of our inner soul, that’s why man longs to Love and to be loved. Love is what holds families, friendships and church communities together. Love is warm, beautiful and celebrated. It encourages and reaffirms. It heals and restores relationships, it mends and propels marriages forward. It sees past our imperfections and differences, it unites…
Love is the yearning of our inner soul, that’s why man longs to Love and to be loved. Love is what holds families, friendships and church communities together. Love is warm, beautiful and celebrated. It encourages and reaffirms. It heals and restores relationships, it mends and propels marriages forward. It sees past our imperfections and differences, it unites divided churches. Love is more than just a powerful word or emotion, it’s an ACTION! The very reason God the Father sent His son to die for us.
When I think about life without Love, it’s hard for me to imagine experiencing any real form of happiness. Only missing out on the fullness of life, missing out on the very thing I exist for. TO LOVE! Really… If we begin to think and picture our world without Love, what would we really have? What could we really hold, cherish or esteem? What could we be proud of?
Lets look at Love from an inwardly focused perspective (self-centered Love). I believe it is healthy and important for us to Love who we are and who God made us to be. But this kind of Love can also be dangerous. It can cause us to be proud, too good for others and selfish. Remember, This exact attitude was what caused Lucifer to be removed from heaven as an angel! You see, God is Love, God gives Love freely and we were made in His image, so there is Love in us. (So God created humans in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27). Since we were created in God’s image, and God gives Love freely, we are also to give Love freely. (God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. 1 John 4:8).
Love is a gift from God, a treasure that was meant to be shared!
Why is it that Love, in many cases is only given in exchange? Sadly, in reality, that is a large part of our societies view of Love. A passage in 1 John 4:19 says… “We love because God loved us first”. If we truly understood this passage we would give love freely. But why do we as people tend to hold, withdraw, or reserve our Love from others? (I’m referring to people other than our families).
We have FEAR OF REJECTION! At some time in our lives we all have experienced rejection, and the pain that comes from Love. But as I have heard it said… “It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all”. The simple fact is that Love eventually ends in pain. It hurt God our Father when He gave His one and only son Jesus, to suffer and die on a cross for our sins. But because of Love it was done. And because of Love Jesus wept for His friend Lazarus when He died. And because of His Love for us, He again weeps when someone dies without knowing Him and His incomparable Love!
So we say we Love unconditionally, but as we have all heard… “Actions speak louder than words”. This reminds me of a passage in 1 John 3:18 that says.. “My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action”. What this says to me is that showing love through words is great, but It’s our ACTIONS that make the real difference!
Our Love for others can’t just be something we talk about, it’s something we need to be about! Our Love for others needs to be seen and felt, without saying a word!
My prayer for us is that we begin to Love like Jesus. Remembering that His Love for us is true Love, given freely.
From The Heart, Dan Chavez
2 responses to “More Than Just A Word”
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Fear of Rejection is a big issue for most of us, we all want to be accepted. But, Jesus Christ in all his glory wasn’t always accepted. Enjoyed this post!
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So true twrightlove! “Fear of Rejection is a big issue for most of us”. Acceptance and approval from others or the lack of is something that can really build or break us, because many of us still don’t know our identity in Christ. Just like you said “Jesus Christ in all his glory wasn’t always accepted”. So to be like Jesus we have to learn to handle rejection like He did. Just love them anyway! Thank you for comment.
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Pastor Dan Chavez 
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