LOVE

"See, how great a LOVE the Father has lavished on us that we would be called children of God . . . the one who does not LOVE his brother is not of God . . . he who does not LOVE abides in death." 1 John 3

It's all about LOVE . . . Life is all about LOVE . . . to LOVE the Lord our God . . . to LOVE our neighbor as ourself . . . I want my life to be characterized by LOVE.

To LOVE means to serve. To LOVE means to deny myself. To LOVE means to think of the other first. To LOVE is to be true, honest, open, vulnerable. To LOVE is to laugh with those who laugh, to smile. To LOVE is to cry for those who hurt, with those who mourn. To LOVE is to hold my tongue and touch with my hands . . . with my heart. This I want to learn.

How can I LOVE others without first loving God?
How can I truly LOVE others without first loving myself?
How can I truly LOVE if I have not received LOVE?
How can I truly LOVE if I have not accepted the LOVE of the Father for me?

LOVE . . . the word we use for a transitory liking of something . . . the word we use for the strongest feeling of life . . . the word that we have forgotten the meaning of is a decision, an act of the will, not merely an emotion. Teach me to LOVE, Daddy. Teach me to LOVE as you have LOVED me.