Love, an action word, a word that needs to be expressed
rather than just spoken as to truly convey its meaning. Words don’t quite do it
justice. Although not capturing the full essence, one definition I felt was
pretty close said love was an unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for
the good of another. Unselfish and benevolent or altruistic concern for the
good of another, putting aside your personal feelings/wants to help out someone
else without looking for anything in return. Love is an extremely essential
piece in our walk with Christ.
Many of us have heard at some point that “a sin is a sin, no
one sin is worse or better than another”.
Many of us have also at some point heard or read about the 10
commandments, thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill etc. In Mark chapter 12
one of the teachers of the law asked Jesus “of all the commandments, which is
the most important? Jesus replied by saying “29 The most important one is this:
‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength. 3` The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself…”
You may be wondering how is one more important then the
next if no one sin is any better or worse than the other? My take on this is
simple. If you truly follow those two the rest will take care of itself. First
lets establish that God is Love. “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...” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Next we know God created all things, the heaven
and the earth, men, women etc. So if we truly loved God whom created all things
and understand God is love, we would not steal from that of which he created,
nor would we kill his creation. And if we loved our neighbor as we loved
ourselves, we would not bear false witness against thy neighbor or covet thy
neighbors house. We would honor God’s commandments and be motivated to follow
his will out of pure love for God, who so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten son to die for our sins so that who ever believes in him
would not die but have everlasting life.
We are sinners and are far from perfect. This is a point
I feel needs to be reiterated, there will be stumbling points along the way,
everything will not be smooth sailing. But with God’s mercy grace and love we
can overcome whatever obstacles may come. I came across this prayer and thought
it was a good one. If you
are truly willing to give your heart to Him, this is a prayer of surrender:
"Lord, I confess that I have fallen short of your purposes for my life. I
ask for forgiveness, and I ask for the gift of your love. I turn away from my
sins and my old life, with all of my heart. I surrender my life to you. I place
all of my trust in Jesus Christ, who died for my sins and rose again. I do
sincerely ask you to be the Lord of my life and to place your great love in my
heart. I will love you and live for you from this time forward." Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.
Happy 4th of July
&
Stay Thirsty My Friends
Thirsty Thursdays
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