Love Always Wins!

When it comes to loving others…Are you shy?  Are you outgoing?  Do you love being with others?  Do you want to hide? Are you too busy?  Are you overwhelmed? Do you have many friends to love or just a few? 

No matter what you think about loving others or what is going on in your life of love – please know this:

God is love, love comes from God, anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. (1John 4: Loving One Another)  

We all can love like God no matter what the world has made us think about love. Many think love is a feeling but according to 1Corinthians 13 – Love is a choice and an action! 

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1Corinthians 13:4-7

Thank goodness for the Spirit God has given us when we accept Jesus into our hearts.  The Holy Spirit within our heart and mind gives us the power to love. Through this Spirit we get to know God and know that He is LOVE.  This.  Is.  Awesome!

Our job is to love faithfully the people God has given us to love, be it two people or two hundred!  It is not the amount of people we love, it is HOW we love. We must love each other according to what is written in the Bible. 

When we love one another, our invisible God reveals himself to others through us and His love is made complete.  Jesus revealed our invisible God to us through Him!! 

“No one has ever seen God, but the ONE and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” John 1:18 

For many years, I had a hard time loving people, especially within the workplace.  My feelings were just that – “feelings.”  If I was not feeling it, you did not get love from me.  I was angry, grumpy and super moody most days.  I had the capacity to be very fake and pretend I like you.  This is a miserable way to live and go to work each day.  I was living in my flesh and my own power vs the power of the Holy Spirit. 

How do you display your love for God and others in the choices you make and the actions you take? 

I was saved in 2016 and have recently surrendered every part of my life to Jesus.  Building a relationship with God and getting to know His Ways has given me a much different view of my work colleagues and HOW to love them. God is love. God is inside of me now. The Holy Spirit gives me the power to love. Jesus gave us a commandment to love our neighbors, brothers, and fellow believers. Love is a choice and an action, it is not a “feeling.” 

We must choose love. 

A few months ago… I saw and heard some colleagues talking about me on a virtual call. They did not and still do not know I witnessed their conversation. It was an incredible moment to really see how people view you. This was a glimpse in time I will probably never get to see or hear again. They said a few things that really made me hit my knees and ask for God’s help to keep loving. I instantly wanted to hate, call them out, and just be angry.  I thought, “How dare they”… but then God reminded me that I “gossip” about others behind their backs also. Yikes…what a reality check. I instantly became still with a splash of numbness. 

As I said earlier, living in a state of anger for me was my reality for years – but this is not God’s reality or Way.  God’s Way is LOVE.  I have made a choice to change my ways with the help and power of the Holy Spirit. One of the biggest things I had to let go of was not keeping record of someone doing me wrong.   When hearing people say hurtful things about you, I should be able to hold resentment and keep record – right?  Well…not exactly... as Christians, we must read and follow what is written in the Bible, forgive, lead with love, and learn to let the “feelings” go.  We will have situations when we do not agree with everyone on everything, but you can approach everything through the lenses of love and treat others how you want to be treated.

So…I talked about the situation to a trusted Christian friend, stayed still and prayed.  I prayed a lot and kept saying in my head…what would Jesus do, what would Jesus do?  I will spare you the specific details of my love reaction,  but I did love these people despite their words and how I felt.  Working with these colleagues will continue, so I need the Holy Spirit’s help, I can not love without God in me – period!

Love is a choice and an action – not a “feeling.”  Choose to respond in love and show love in your actions to one another. God is love. God lives in us. We are to love each other if we know Him.

“But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1John 4:8 

I am not perfect, far from it.  I am a toddler in my Christian walk and growing each day thanks to Jesus. The renewing grace of God alone prepares my heart for every good work. I really wanted to verbally attack my colleagues that day – but I got still and HELD MY TONGUE.  I am not sufficient in myself to think or speak anything wise or good – I need the Holy Spirit guiding me.  Thank you Jesus.

 “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” Proverbs 16:1

Was there a lesson to be learned from this situation? 

Yes… several!  

• LOVE people. 
• Stop gossiping. 
• Don’t be so hard on people.
• We are all human.
• Get over yourself.
• Be patient and kind. 
• Hold your tongue.
• Don’t hold resentment when wronged.  
• Be still and go to God!  
• His way not my way
• Obedience 
• God is LOVE!!

God can and will use any situation (good or bad) to teach us, grow us and bring Him Glory. 

LOVE ALWAYS WINS! 

Stay Rooted,

Lisa