What is Love?

In my quiet time today, I read from the daily devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Do you have this devotional? It will change your life! Really! I love reading it every morning and looking up the corresponding bible verses. Sometimes I need to re-read the day’s devotional and the verses if I am struggling in that particular area that day. I often find that the devotions will match up to whatever is going on in my life at that time. Do you find this in your reading? It is like God wrote the devotional just for me. That he loves me enough to have one of his servants write this book just for me. That is a love I cannot fully wrap my head around but I sure am trying.

Today I was reading out of 1 Thessalonians 4 about how to live to please God. In verse 9, it talks about how God himself teaches us to love one another. As humans, we often need to be reminded of the greatness of love. Because honestly, nothing matters without love.

Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica and points out that the believers already show their love for their fellow brothers and sisters. Okay…that’s great. What’s the point? In verse 10, he continues on to urge the people to “love them even more.” Sometimes the idea of “more” as it is required of us, is exhausting. We think how can I give more to this relationship than I already am? How can I love my child the way that God would want me to? Do I really have to love that family difficult member that causes me pain?

Sometimes we find ourselves merely tolerating the difficult people in our lives. But here is a revelation: the bible doesn’t urge us to tolerance. Tolerance is merely turning our heads in indifference as if to ignore the things we don’t like or agree with. We tolerate the homeless person on the street corner begging for money; we tolerate the ‘different’ kid hanging out at school. We tolerate the bi-sexual college guy in our small group, labeling these people ‘lost or confused.’ We label them ‘problems’ and think that if we don’t acknowledge them, maybe they won’t exist. Or maybe, just maybe, if we surround ourselves with only ‘church people’, we can blind ourselves out of any uncomfortable situation.

Life is certainly not comfortable. Our communities can certainly feel uncomfortable when we operate from a place of tolerance vs. love. I am not here to debate lost souls with you. I am asking you to love even MORE. More than what you have, more than your neighbor, more than your brother, more than you could ever imagine. Love with the strength you don’t have. This kind of love cannot come from our own strength, but from the Father above.

Jesus is an example of a holy and pure lover of the lost, hurting, broken, wicked, proud, and arrogant person. If we have Jesus in us, we can surely ask Him to help us love even more. After all, we are each part of one big Kingdom family. I sure want my family to love me and not simply tolerate me, don’t you?

Lord, I thank you for your perfect example of love. I thank you that your love for me is more than I could ever comprehend. Lord, help me to love the unlovely in my community. Give me the courage to move past tolerance and to love with all that I have. Thank you for the strength to love the difficult people in my life. Change my eyes to see them as you do.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.