Saturday, January 21, 2012

To be Loved

Everybody who is born into this world has a guaranteed desire! Everybody wants to be accepted, validated, and feel significant. Wouldn't this be a valid conclusion. The deeper reason why people want to feel validated and told they matter is because they long to be loved. Is love an emotion an action or just an abstract concept? Many people can describe what it feels like to be loved but most cannot define love itself! This is because love is so amazing that it would difficult to define it in one sentence.

Love can change your direction in life, restore a relationship, give hope, or transform somebody. This is because love reaches the depths of our soul and penetrates our inner parts. The interesting thing about love is that different people seek it in different places. Every individual has a different background and set of circumstances in their life! These circumstances shape one's character and determine where and how someone will look for love. A prime example is of a young woman who didn't grow up with her father. This girl will grow up feeling unwanted, broken, hurting and desperate for that male attention she never received as a child. It is logical that she will seek love in males. Some fatherless females may view sex as a way of men expressing their love for them. Other women may look for men to buy them things and tell them that they are beautiful which will make them feel significant! The sad truth is that these females will carry this brokenness their whole life, until God steps in and heals their wounds. Another example is a teenager who just immigrated to the United States from Guatemala and is teased at school for his accent. He is constantly mocked and feels marginalized. There is a gang in school that says they want him to join. He becomes part of the gang where he finds validation, a sense of family, and loyalty. He gravitates towards the gang because of this. Others may have low self esteem and failed many tasks, tests, and have fallen short of their goals! These people seek love and acceptance through other people's recognition, awards, and prizes. Certain individuals felt lonely growing up because they were an only child and their parents worked all the time which cultivated a desire in their heart to form deep bonds. These individuals may know that you love them when you call them and spend time with them! Other people had both parents in their home but they weren't the kindest nor compassionate people. For these individuals love is manifested through a hug and a warm embrace!

This is where humans seek love! Can love be found in these places? Sure it can! But unfortunately humans are limited in the love they can give! In addition when we love, it is often accompanied by conditions and barriers. Let me introduce you to somebody who will love you no matter what! He doesn't care about what you've done nor your past failures. His love will cure all the pain, regret, anxieties, and fears. He can change the way you view life and incite hope through His love! His love will penetrate a hardened heart and an emotionless person! He can even change the people that haven't expressed love their whole lives. His name is Jesus. Sometimes the Lord will put people in our lives who are difficult to love! He does this so He can fill us with his supernatural love that can only come from Him and for His name to be glorified! He loved us so much that He went to the cross and died for us! There is no greater love. He felt so strongly about it that he ranked His commandments and the the top 2 were spoken by Jesus (God incarnate). "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." This verse is from Matthew 22 in the Bible (Word of God)! The Lord took it a step further and said in the Letter of 1 John 4:16 "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." God said that He is love in this scripture. So whoever has a personal connection with God is supposed to be filled with love for others, yes, even our enemies and others that are difficult to love! God loves us so much that it is overwhelming, unimaginable, inconceivable, and amazingly beautiful. Once we come to this realization in our minds and more importantly in our hearts everything changes! There will be times when you will want to break down and cry just thinking about it for a brief moment! The other really cool part about God's love is that nothing can separate us from the love of God! Rom 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The deeper meaning and revelation in this scripture is that God's love will never leave us, it will always be available, and it is relentless! No matter what we do or when we do it God will still love us!

God is sovereign and His majesty is represented here! His perfect love is the reason why young orphan kids in Iran will know that somebody cares about them. His love will transform teenagers from urban communities all over the United States who have lost hope! God's love will be the only love that young women and men who were were raised without fathers need! It will fill the gaping whole that lies in their hearts! His love has the capacity to restore young people who have been sexually, physically, mentally, and emotionally abused. His love will be the only force on this planet to deliver young women and teenagers from Red Light districts all over the world who are subject to the bondage of prostitution and sex trafficking! God's love is transforming, sovereign, groundbreaking and pure! God loved me so much that in His mercy He sent His only Son to die so that we can live! He saw all the pain and destruction that mankind would inherit and God sent his only Son to die for us! If you ever want to accept His Love, just cry out to Him and if its sincere He will respect you and fill you up with his life saving power! This is true love and the only love, God's love!