Where Love and Life Begin

1 John 4:7-11; Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  8; Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  9; This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10; This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  11; Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Do you believe God loves you - Do you feel His love for you, or are you not too sure about this aspect of your life?  If love is not present in your life, a vital part of your life is missing because it is an essential part of a person’s life. God loves you and he wants you to know what love is about. 

Love is more than an emotion-it’s a commitment and it’s also a decision.  When you love somebody, you can discern whether or not they truly love you.  It allows you to know deep down inside whether or not their love is genuine or not.  God has given us this kind of radar within.  One thing to remember if you don’t realize it, love comes with a cost – it is not free.  Love will always demand something of us. 

You have to walk the walk and talk the talk when you say you love someone.  It’s a requirement.  And because love comes with demands, some people are willing to forgo this because they don’t have it within to stretch to that degree.  These are the kinds of folk that will miss out on what life is all about.

Genesis 1:1; God’s creation was an act of love. 

Making the decision to love includes the everyday little things that you often do for one another, especially when you’re not feeling loving. Making love a decision also means allowing yourself to be loved. It is about the choice to be vulnerable and put yourself out there to let another person in. This other person will see the good, the bad, your strengths and weaknesses. 

When a person really and truly feels love, they feel a confident and it enables a certain level of completeness emotionally. However, you can never be under the illusion that feelings won’t and don’t change.  That’s why choosing to love is so vital because action is behind the feeling.

Deuteronomy 11:26; Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! 27; You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. 28; But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.

You love God by being obedient to His Word. To love God is to live free - love is always thinking about the other person.  The very act of falling in love with someone is a beautiful and generous feeling.  I believe it is because you’re actually giving to someone.  It’s an unselfish act and it can be one of the most fulfilling as well.

Think of it this way; imagine someone has a great need and for whatever reason, hasn’t been able to take care of it for themselves.  Then out of nowhere, you bless them by giving to them what they need.  It’s such a rewarding feeling. Our Heavenly Father has given us this kind of capacity, simply through loving from the core your heart.  Life and love begins in your life when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  You’ve got everything when you have the ability to love other people and receive love.