Agape Love

This morning, I started the morning a little differently than usual. I have no rules to my worship time with God, that is precious time between us, no rules needed. I started by turning on the TV. On Wednesday nights Beth Moore is on and I had recorded her talking. I watched her instead. Proverbs 19:20, "Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life." So this writing comes from Beth Moore and myself.

Proverbs 19:22 (NIV), "What a man desires is unfailing love;" We are all made of DNA. I am a woman and nothing can change that fact. My husband is a man and there is nothing to change that. God is love and their is nothing that we can do to change Him either. He is love. We do not deserve His love; we can never make Him stop loving us, it is who He is. We have to rely on God to love us and we have to rely on God for us to love others. 1 Jn 4:18ff, "...We love each other as a result of His loving us first." We must rely on God's love in us, to love others. He has given us His love, so that we can go out and love others. We are not mere men, we are filled with Christ. We are free to love because Christ first loved us. I don't come to people to be loved; I love them because He loves me. I don't sit around and wait for others to love me, I fill my day with His love so that I can love others. It is not about what others can give me, I am so full. It is about what I can give back to them because He has given it to me. Do you get it? Rom 5:5, "For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love." I can't love with a human heart. I must love them with God.

Psalm 51:10-13, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me..." This does not say heal my broken heart, but create a new heart for me. "Restore to me again the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey You. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to You." What is the way of God? It is love, His kind of love. Make me new God! Create in me a new heart, so that I can love others with Your love. That way You can love them, through me.

Acts 9:4, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?" When we hurt one of God's children, you are hurting God. When you show love to them, you are loving God. When you know and rely on the love God has for you, you can learn to love with God's love.

There are two kinds of love talked about in the bible, Agape love and Philos love. Agape love is based on what is best for that person. We love them how they need to be loved. Philos love is based on common interest, friendship love. It doesn't matter how others treat you, love them with Agape love.

"You will get into the biggest mess of your life if you love unhealthy people the way they want to be loved." I know this is true. I loved my ex-husband the way that he wanted me to love him, and it almost destroyed the both of us. You cannot be a false savior for someone. Other people are not your Savior, either. Sometimes you must pull back, so that Christ can move in. Other times you must move in, so that they can feel Christ through you. Love others with the love of Christ. When you love someone, you are not loving them to get something from them; you are loving them to show them the love of Christ. How are you loving someone today?