Little Gems

It's all About Love

It never ceases to amaze me that I'm still learning new things at my age. When I was in my forties I thought I knew it all. And here I am farther down the road and still don't know everything, and am sure I never will. Over the years I would ask my Dad if he knew everything and he would reply "not yet." When he was 85 he said, "almost everything."

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 is a beautiful message about "A Time for Everything," and indeed there is. Verse 11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." God will reveal everything he wants us to know in His time. Just reflecting on this very thought gives me peace and comfort. And so I praise God for this.

In His time and through certain circumstances in my own life, God revealed Himself to me. It was as though He just opened a window and guided me through His Word. God brought to my mind a passage in James 2:14-17, which says, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead."

Without love, we cannot possibly do what the above Scripture says. Christianity is one word; please get this one--Love. God is Love. God loved us so much he sent his Son to die for our sins. One verse that most everyone knows is John 3:16, which says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (KJV)

It is quite amazing how our minds work; little things happen that trigger a whole array of emotions. This happened to me recently and is what inspired me to write this page.

It all started with a tree. We purchased a tree from a local nursery and brought it home. It was very heavy. One of our neighbors quickly came over and helped my husband get it out of the car and to the place where we wanted to plant it. At that same moment another neighbor volunteered to come over and dig the hole for us. The job was done quickly and we had a lovely new tree in our yard. We were so thankful to our neighbors. One of them said, "Hey, that's what neighbors are for." Of course, we've all heard that cliché before, but it is indeed true.

Almost immediately my brain was in gear thinking about the love shown by our caring neighbors. Just who are our neighbors anyway? They are not just the people on our street, neighborhood, city, or even our nation. Neighbors are everyone, everywhere.

As good Christian neighbors our guidelines for living come from God's Word; this is our spiritual food. When we love one another, we can truly experience what James 2:8 says, "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right." In 1 John 4:16 God says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." Imagine God living in us! I love this verse.

Ephesians 4:2 says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Let us not be too quick to judge others. Proverbs 19:11 tells us "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." And if we think too much of ourselves, we can very quickly be humbled by the verse in Matthew 7:4 which says, "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? Let us first examine ourselves, always making sure we have the right motives.

So here it is folks; it's all about love. There are innumerable scriptures about love; I could not possibly list them on this page. Just read God's Word from cover to cover. That should do it!

Loving your neighbor is not an option; it is a commandment! In 1 John 3:23, God says, "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Nothing says it quite like Galatians 5:14, "The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Another verse, very direct and to the point, is 1 Corinthians 16:14, which says, "Do everything in love." If we call ourselves Christians, we must love one another. In 1 John 4:8, God says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." I reiterate, it is all about Love.

God created the earth and man for His good pleasure. He loves us unconditionally. He is sovereign and holy; it is easy for Him to love us. However, because of our sinful nature, it is not easy for us to love one another; so we really have to work on this one. Let's face it, we are not all loveable!

In the final analysis, what really matters is what I said before. Remember? It's all about Love! We fulfill God's law by demonstrating love to others.

The following prayer happened to be in my devotional the day I wrote this--God's perfect timing:

Lord, I am so far from really loving my "neighbor" as myself. Especially when my neighbor includes the whole world. Help me to have and show real love to my neighbor.

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