Do ya LOVE Me? (Do ya love meh?)
You sang that, didn't you? Yes. I'm singing it now, too, hahaha. I just had to get up and mash potatoes and do the twist! ;) Seriously, though...what's the one thing we all want in life? Be honest! Whether you admit it or not, it's not fame or fortune, a big house, a nice car. We all have but one true desire. To be loved. Honest to goodness, deep down, without a doubt LOVED! Not for what we do or who we are, but simply because. Just plain old unconditionally loved. I do! I'll admit it. I want to know that somewhere out there in this vast universe is one person who loves me more than anyone else in all God's creation ever could. Even though I sometimes talk too much, in spite of my too plump physique, regardless of the fact I walk with a limp...I want someone to love me, baggage, scars and all!
My personal opinion about love is that we all have a flawed sense of what that tender, passionate, sometimes elusive, (and in God's case, ubiquitous) emotion really is. We have all had people in our lives who taught us love conditionally. If you stay out of my way, I will love you. If you lose weight, I will love you. If you follow me, I will love you. If you do my homework, I will love you. If you give yourself to me, I will love you. If...if...if... If you remember the song from my title, it's about someone who didn't receive the love they wanted because they couldn't dance. They learned how to dance and came back, hopeful to be loved for their efforts! Haven't we all had experiences like that in our lives? How many times have you changed the way you dressed, wore your hair, where you lived, improved your grades, etc. all to try and win someone's love and approval? I have no idea how many times I have personally changed things about myself in order to please someone. It's human nature. It is also very sad. Love is meant to be given freely. Unfortunately, it is often not given freely, much less unconditionally. Isn't it supposed to be, though? Isn't that how God created love? To be patterned after His love?
What is love? Search for the definition of love on the internet and you will find thousands of definitions. Basically, love is a deep affection for someone or something. Psychologists will tell you love is a learned behavior. If you are raised with love, you will be loving. If you are not, you will be incapable of loving another. To a degree I agree with that thought process...but not completely.
Everyone is born with an innate desire for closeness and affection. God created us that way. Think about a new born baby. Snuggle that little bundle of joy into the crook of your arm or up in your neck, love on him, and see what happens. If you truly love that little one, he will be perfectly content to stay snuggled up in your embrace until he gets hungry or needs a diaper change. But, place that baby in the hands of someone who has no affection for him whatsoever, and he will scream bloody murder. He knows instinctively when there is no love in that embrace. If a child is repeatedly mistreated, he will eventually stop crying. He will never, however, stop wanting to be loved.
God shows us (through the Apostle Paul) in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a exactly how love is meant to work. (Yes...it takes "work") "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails!"
Now, I don't know about you, but being kind and patient do not always come naturally to me. How in the world are we supposed to show love in ways that contradict every natural born instinct we have? Patient? Seriously?! That's what the scripture says! And, how in the world are we supposed to do that? There is really no other way of capably taming our inner would-you-just-get-out-of-my-way-already selves and become the I-will-lovingly-be-patient-with-you version without having a full on falling in love with the maker of Love, himself. 1 John 4:7-8 says, " Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Let's break this down. So, if God IS love...and if we KNOW God...then we should be able to show love. The key is the word know. This is not a casual, "Hey! What's up, God? Haven't talked to you in a while." kind of knowing. This is a "Hey, God. I am so glad I can hang out with you all day long, every single day! Oh, and thanks for showing me that point in the Bible verse I was reading this morning. That little pricking of my heart let me know that was exactly what you have been trying to show me! I appreciate that, Lord. Thank you so much for spending time with me! I know you love me, and I surely do love you!" kind of knowing. Reading and learning His Word, spending time in prayer, worshiping Him, going to church and actually listening to the minister...that is how you know God. If you know Him, and spend time with Him, love Him and do your best to be obedient to Him, you will be able to love like Him. And how does He love us? Just the way we long to be loved: totally, completely, unconditionally!
God does love us above all else! How much, you ask? "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10) This is reiterated in John 3:16, that little verse we all learned in Sunday School. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." His only son! His heart and soul! The apple of His eye. How about Jesus Christ? "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us!" (1 Jn 3:16) He loved us so much that He paid the ultimate sacrifice for pushy, unloving, impatient, rude, sinful, human US! What love...unfathomable, amazing, glorious, undeserved LOVE! And what does He ask of us in return? Show love. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 Jn 4:11)
Love can be such a fickle emotion. Here today and gone tomorrow. If you are truly in love with your Savior, you will be capable of loving in a way you only dreamed of being loved. And what's so special about that? There is another song that says, "Love isn't love until you give it away." If you give love, you will receive love. I am a loving person. If you know me, you know that. I receive love because I give it. However, the awesome thing about God's love is that He loves us whether we love Him or not. But Oh, how He loves me. I know I have people who love me. I am loved. Yet, no love can compare with the LOVE of my Savior! Does He love me? Ohhhhh, yeah! He LOVES me! Guess what?! He loves you too!!!! Here comes another song to sing! " He loves us! OH, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves US, Oh, how He loves!!!" So! Do ya love me? Maybe ya do, maybe ya don't. I know somebody who does! :D
My personal opinion about love is that we all have a flawed sense of what that tender, passionate, sometimes elusive, (and in God's case, ubiquitous) emotion really is. We have all had people in our lives who taught us love conditionally. If you stay out of my way, I will love you. If you lose weight, I will love you. If you follow me, I will love you. If you do my homework, I will love you. If you give yourself to me, I will love you. If...if...if... If you remember the song from my title, it's about someone who didn't receive the love they wanted because they couldn't dance. They learned how to dance and came back, hopeful to be loved for their efforts! Haven't we all had experiences like that in our lives? How many times have you changed the way you dressed, wore your hair, where you lived, improved your grades, etc. all to try and win someone's love and approval? I have no idea how many times I have personally changed things about myself in order to please someone. It's human nature. It is also very sad. Love is meant to be given freely. Unfortunately, it is often not given freely, much less unconditionally. Isn't it supposed to be, though? Isn't that how God created love? To be patterned after His love?
What is love? Search for the definition of love on the internet and you will find thousands of definitions. Basically, love is a deep affection for someone or something. Psychologists will tell you love is a learned behavior. If you are raised with love, you will be loving. If you are not, you will be incapable of loving another. To a degree I agree with that thought process...but not completely.
Everyone is born with an innate desire for closeness and affection. God created us that way. Think about a new born baby. Snuggle that little bundle of joy into the crook of your arm or up in your neck, love on him, and see what happens. If you truly love that little one, he will be perfectly content to stay snuggled up in your embrace until he gets hungry or needs a diaper change. But, place that baby in the hands of someone who has no affection for him whatsoever, and he will scream bloody murder. He knows instinctively when there is no love in that embrace. If a child is repeatedly mistreated, he will eventually stop crying. He will never, however, stop wanting to be loved.
God shows us (through the Apostle Paul) in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a exactly how love is meant to work. (Yes...it takes "work") "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails!"
Now, I don't know about you, but being kind and patient do not always come naturally to me. How in the world are we supposed to show love in ways that contradict every natural born instinct we have? Patient? Seriously?! That's what the scripture says! And, how in the world are we supposed to do that? There is really no other way of capably taming our inner would-you-just-get-out-of-my-way-already selves and become the I-will-lovingly-be-patient-with-you version without having a full on falling in love with the maker of Love, himself. 1 John 4:7-8 says, " Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Let's break this down. So, if God IS love...and if we KNOW God...then we should be able to show love. The key is the word know. This is not a casual, "Hey! What's up, God? Haven't talked to you in a while." kind of knowing. This is a "Hey, God. I am so glad I can hang out with you all day long, every single day! Oh, and thanks for showing me that point in the Bible verse I was reading this morning. That little pricking of my heart let me know that was exactly what you have been trying to show me! I appreciate that, Lord. Thank you so much for spending time with me! I know you love me, and I surely do love you!" kind of knowing. Reading and learning His Word, spending time in prayer, worshiping Him, going to church and actually listening to the minister...that is how you know God. If you know Him, and spend time with Him, love Him and do your best to be obedient to Him, you will be able to love like Him. And how does He love us? Just the way we long to be loved: totally, completely, unconditionally!
God does love us above all else! How much, you ask? "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10) This is reiterated in John 3:16, that little verse we all learned in Sunday School. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." His only son! His heart and soul! The apple of His eye. How about Jesus Christ? "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us!" (1 Jn 3:16) He loved us so much that He paid the ultimate sacrifice for pushy, unloving, impatient, rude, sinful, human US! What love...unfathomable, amazing, glorious, undeserved LOVE! And what does He ask of us in return? Show love. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 Jn 4:11)
Love can be such a fickle emotion. Here today and gone tomorrow. If you are truly in love with your Savior, you will be capable of loving in a way you only dreamed of being loved. And what's so special about that? There is another song that says, "Love isn't love until you give it away." If you give love, you will receive love. I am a loving person. If you know me, you know that. I receive love because I give it. However, the awesome thing about God's love is that He loves us whether we love Him or not. But Oh, how He loves me. I know I have people who love me. I am loved. Yet, no love can compare with the LOVE of my Savior! Does He love me? Ohhhhh, yeah! He LOVES me! Guess what?! He loves you too!!!! Here comes another song to sing! " He loves us! OH, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves US, Oh, how He loves!!!" So! Do ya love me? Maybe ya do, maybe ya don't. I know somebody who does! :D
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