Love

I wrote this little thing on God's love back on November 16, and since I couldn't think of anything to blog tonight I decided to post this. It's not the greatest (I realize that), but it's just one of those things I wrote as it came to me and such.


"All great characters in stories are the ones who give their lives for something bigger than themselves. And in all of the stories I don't find anyone more noble than Jesus. He gave His life for me, in obedience to His Father. I truly love Him for it. ... I think the difference in my life came when I realized, after reading [the Gospels], that Jesus didn't just love me out of principle; He didn't just love me because it was the right thing to do. Rather, there was something inside me that caused Him to love me."
-- from Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

We all know that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the world to save us from the sins that we, the people, had committed. But He didn't just come to the world, live and teach God's Word, then die when the time came. Jesus really made an effort to see exactly what His Father saw in us that made us loved. Jesus sought out to get to know the people, especially the lowly, poor, and hated, and He realized that even in all of our sin, stress, and turmoil, we still find a way to seek forgiveness, show compassion, and be happy with our lives. He understood why God wanted to save us and give us eternal life, knew that He had to find a help us seek that life. Jesus found every opportunity (no matter how short) to find a way into our hearts. Some people have the Lord filling every single inch of their heart, but even having the smallest crack or crevice filled with love for Him is a success.
"...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed...Nothing will be impossible for you." -- Matthew 17:20

Here is somewhat of a prayer I wrote to go with this. It's a prayer of love. Use it if you ever want to.
Heavenly Father,
I love You. I want You to fill every bit of my heart with love for You. I know that You love us, and it took a huge price for us to be able to see how much You love us. Help us to remember the importance of asking forgiveness, not only for salvation, but for love. Because even though Your love is unconditional, we first need to accept it.
I pray also, Lord, that You will continue to let us show love to one another. Without community, we still have You. But without that community, we don't have the resources to love You by spreading Your Word, and if we aren't loving You, we aren't accepting Your love.The knowledge of LOVE is needed to accept the gifts You've given us. So I first and foremost thank You for Your love.
Amen.