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.
John 3:16
This verse is known the world over. It is the message that God loves everyone universally and unconditonally. It is understood that God was willing to give his only Son to the cause of humanity's redemption. God made the ultimate sacrifice for us and in turn as we live our lives for Him, He challenges us to give the same self-sacrificing love that we have recieved. And therein lies the challenge.
Love is not just butterflies, candy, flowers, and sunny days. Love is also earth-quaking, shattering, breath-stopping pain. Love isn't simply warm fuzzies. Love can require of us lettting go, knowing that another person's happiness may not bring you a desired outcome. Love can require us to speak up when we would rather remain silent because we don't want the confrontation that love can bring. Love is messy, but love is worth all that it brings.
Love costs. Romantic Love? Costs even more. It costs you to open up and be vulnerable with another human being, to allow them into your spiritual space, your soul. When you engage in the act of intimacy (sexual intercourse) you intertwine your soul with the soul of another. It's a part of you that you cannot get back. This is why the Word of God says that a man sins agasint his own self when committing fornication (sex outside the marriage covenant).
When you repeatedly commit this crime against your self, in the process you lose soul. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? A love-emptied soul is a dangerous one. It stops counting the cost because it has become bankrupt. We live in a day where the love of many has waxed cold. How did they get there? The deposits stopped.
Don't stop depositing and filling your heart with the love of God and the compassion of God. This world will present you with many opportunities to say, "Love isn't worth it." Don't buy into it. Remember, age after age, mankind has continually given God pause, to say "I repent that I made man," and He is the Creator of the Universe! Yet, God in His mercy made a way for our sins not to separate us from His Love. And it cost HIM. People will give you cause to pause, cause to throw in the towel, but keep going. Keep loving. Keep praying, Father: show me how to love like YOU have loved Me.
I am reminded of how much GOD loved and continues to Love Me. The price was beyond value. The beautiful thing about God is that He has not asked of us, what he has not done himself. He looked past our faults and saw our need to be loved. We love Him because He first loved us.
Love costs. Spend it well. Spend it often. Spend it generously.
When you repeatedly commit this crime against your self, in the process you lose soul. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? A love-emptied soul is a dangerous one. It stops counting the cost because it has become bankrupt. We live in a day where the love of many has waxed cold. How did they get there? The deposits stopped.
Don't stop depositing and filling your heart with the love of God and the compassion of God. This world will present you with many opportunities to say, "Love isn't worth it." Don't buy into it. Remember, age after age, mankind has continually given God pause, to say "I repent that I made man," and He is the Creator of the Universe! Yet, God in His mercy made a way for our sins not to separate us from His Love. And it cost HIM. People will give you cause to pause, cause to throw in the towel, but keep going. Keep loving. Keep praying, Father: show me how to love like YOU have loved Me.
I am reminded of how much GOD loved and continues to Love Me. The price was beyond value. The beautiful thing about God is that He has not asked of us, what he has not done himself. He looked past our faults and saw our need to be loved. We love Him because He first loved us.
Love costs. Spend it well. Spend it often. Spend it generously.
