Chronicles of a Christian Teen #11
[b][center]How to Love?
Loving seems easy. We know that love is valuable, but at times we take advantage of it or take it for granted. In fact, we misuse love quite often. Love is described as an intense feeling of deep affection, so what does that mean for us as Christians? How can we learn to love accordingly? Sometimes, we tend to fall into this temptation. Our imperfections often lead us to love in this order: (1) Ourselves (2) Others (3) Jesus and God. Our own selfish ambition drives us to put ourselves first, even if it means putting others down or ignoring God's will to pursue our own. We often put the affection for others on the backburner and we become distant with our Heavenly Father.
In reality, the correct way to love should be executed in this order: (1) Jesus and God (2) Others (3) Ourselves. If you notice, this is the same list, except flipped in the opposite order. We need to ultimately love Jesus and God above all else. God because he's the Creator and Jesus because he gave us the blueprint and opportunity to live yet another day on this planet. This is the first and greatest commandment, and love for others cannot be thoroughly executed without this.
Ultimately, until we love God first, we will not know what true love is. 1 John 4:8 (NLT) says: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." After God, we ought to love others above ourselves and treat them as we would like to be treated with kindness in return. John 15:12 (NLT) says: "My command is this 'Love each other as I have loved you." Loving others isn't always easy, but we have to remember that we aren't always easy to love either, and yet, God still loves us despite our imperfections. Therefore, we ought to do the same for others.
The joy that comes from putting God and Jesus above ourselves and loving them deeply, is inexpressible. There is countless value in selfless love because it is so pure, right, and true. While we should, indeed, be last on the list, that is not an excuse for us to not love ourselves. Instead of being selfish and prideful or insecure and disappointed in ourselves, we need to find a middle ground. Learn to love ourselves humbly and the best way to do so is through God's Word. Jesus made it one of his missions to give us the blueprint to do this as he had a love for his own Father to distribute the kind of love we try to imitate in the following scriptures: 1 Peter 2:21, Matthew 22:36-38, John 14:31, John 8:29, John 3:34 and John 6:68.
All love stems from God and His Word. Think about it, through it, we are strengthening our relationship with God as we learn how to love Him. This inspires us to share His love with others and learn to love ourselves. 1 John 4:7 (NLT) says: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
Amen 馃槆鉂わ笍馃拹[/center][/b]
Loving seems easy. We know that love is valuable, but at times we take advantage of it or take it for granted. In fact, we misuse love quite often. Love is described as an intense feeling of deep affection, so what does that mean for us as Christians? How can we learn to love accordingly? Sometimes, we tend to fall into this temptation. Our imperfections often lead us to love in this order: (1) Ourselves (2) Others (3) Jesus and God. Our own selfish ambition drives us to put ourselves first, even if it means putting others down or ignoring God's will to pursue our own. We often put the affection for others on the backburner and we become distant with our Heavenly Father.
In reality, the correct way to love should be executed in this order: (1) Jesus and God (2) Others (3) Ourselves. If you notice, this is the same list, except flipped in the opposite order. We need to ultimately love Jesus and God above all else. God because he's the Creator and Jesus because he gave us the blueprint and opportunity to live yet another day on this planet. This is the first and greatest commandment, and love for others cannot be thoroughly executed without this.
Ultimately, until we love God first, we will not know what true love is. 1 John 4:8 (NLT) says: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." After God, we ought to love others above ourselves and treat them as we would like to be treated with kindness in return. John 15:12 (NLT) says: "My command is this 'Love each other as I have loved you." Loving others isn't always easy, but we have to remember that we aren't always easy to love either, and yet, God still loves us despite our imperfections. Therefore, we ought to do the same for others.
The joy that comes from putting God and Jesus above ourselves and loving them deeply, is inexpressible. There is countless value in selfless love because it is so pure, right, and true. While we should, indeed, be last on the list, that is not an excuse for us to not love ourselves. Instead of being selfish and prideful or insecure and disappointed in ourselves, we need to find a middle ground. Learn to love ourselves humbly and the best way to do so is through God's Word. Jesus made it one of his missions to give us the blueprint to do this as he had a love for his own Father to distribute the kind of love we try to imitate in the following scriptures: 1 Peter 2:21, Matthew 22:36-38, John 14:31, John 8:29, John 3:34 and John 6:68.
All love stems from God and His Word. Think about it, through it, we are strengthening our relationship with God as we learn how to love Him. This inspires us to share His love with others and learn to love ourselves. 1 John 4:7 (NLT) says: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
Amen 馃槆鉂わ笍馃拹[/center][/b]
