L.O.V.E.

Did you know that I am currently writing a daily devotion, typically based on the verse of the day from the YouVersion Bible app? You can check out today's devotion below, and follow along (as well as reading archived ones from all of 2016) by visiting my Facebook page. 

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”John 13:34-35 (The Message)

The entire Gospel in one word: LOVE. It is in love that God created the world, and in love that He saves the world. It is in love that Jesus was sent, and in love that Jesus was sacrificed. It was in love that Jesus spoke, and it was in love that Jesus served. There should be no mystery whatsoever that the ultimate commandment to love has a double edge: LOVE God with all you are and have, and LOVE your neighbor as you love self (Mark 11:28-30). I developed an acrostic to help me think about what it truly means to LOVE; check it out...

• Love Lasts: it isn't conditional or fickle; true love lasts, even when it's hard.
• Love Overwhelms: it consumes the discretion and direction of your life; true love overwhelms you for the sake God and others.
• Love makes us Vulnerable: it requires us to put ourselves "out there," even though we might be taken for granted or hurt; even God became vulnerable in sending Jesus.
• Love grows Exponentially: we have an unlimited ability to love; we need not divide our love when others come into our lives, for our ability to love grows exponentially the more opportunities we have to love. 

Living lives of true love lasts, extending beyond time and space; overwhelms, changing the way we look at others in our lives; makes us vulnerable, requiring us to put ourselves "out there" regardless of what might come back to us in return; and exponentially expands with the opportunities we have to love. I love the verses in 1 John 5:1-3* that say we show our love for God in how we love God's children by following God's commandment. And what was the commandment given by Jesus? "Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

*"If we believe that Jesus is truly Christ, we are God’s children. Everyone who loves the Father will also love his children. If we love and obey God, we know that we will love his children. We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow." (1 John 5:1-3)