Read: John 13: 34-35“If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” - 1 John 4: 20
People need love. They want to feel cherished, cared for and needed. When they do not receive this affirmation, they get discouraged and lose hope. God calls Christians to love. As we love others, we show gratitude to God and prove to the world that we are followers of Jesus Christ (John 13: 34-35). As we love, we mirror the joy and peace found only in Jesus. We are an extension of Christ’s love to everyone in our sphere of influence.
There are three main types of love: Eros, Philio and Agape. Eros is physical love and involves a chemical cocktail of adrenalin, dopamine, and serotonin that attracts us to certain other people. Philio is from our soul. It is the love of friends for one another. Agape is God’s love. His love transcends the physical and emotional realms of life. Therefore, it is possible to continue to love someone that we no longer feel physically attracted to or have any type of friendship with any longer. Christ’s love is self-sacrificing, yet not codependently so.
I am not talking about being a doormat, or allowing people to abuse us or to treat us rudely. Christ does not encourage us to stop caring for our own needs. If we do not love ourselves first, we can never love someone else (Mark 12:31). Jesus wore the best clothes (John 19:23-24); yet he did not have a place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). He did not seek worldly gain at another’s expense. He did, however, have everything He needed. The balance in enjoying a healthy sense of love for our “self” here has nothing to do with selfish ambition or vain conceit, but with humility in considering others better than our selves (Philippians 2:3) at the same time that we make sure our needs are met as well.
Dysfunctional love exists in our human relationships as a symptom of our spiritual disease. This maladjusted love is not in balance and harmony with God’s love. Fairytales and romance novels make us believe that we have to be in a relationship in order to be whole or complete. This is not true. We are not “halves” that cannot be whole without a relationship. As long as we believe that we need to have another person in our life in order to be happy and to feel loved, we are really using that person as our drug of choice.
The actual cause of this feeling of disconnection within us is our detachment from our Spiritual Source…Jesus Christ. This is toxic love and it will eventually kill us. We are addicted to the euphoria of another person’s presence for as long as these feelings last in our soul. Some people change the object of their obsession more often than rain waters the earth. That is not God’s true love - nor is it loving in the way that God intended. Christ’s love defies natural affection and loves in spite of the recipient’s attitude and behavior. God’s love works miracles in people’s lives. We receive God’s love unconditionally. Therefore, we can love our self and others unconditionally, because He first loved us (Romans 5:8). When we share His love, we bring glory and honor to His name.
God calls us to love others as Jesus loves us. Jesus loved us enough to leave the riches of Heaven, even though we are completely unlovable and sinful. This level of love inspires us to demonstrate this same love to one another. Sacrificial love gives and considers the needs of others ahead of our own, but not to the exclusion of our own needs. We give of our time, talents, empathy and even our material resources, if possible. We rejoice when others rejoice, and we cry when others hurt. Most of all, we forgive even the vilest offender, simply because Jesus forgave us.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to purify ourselves by obeying the truth, so that we have sincere love for our brothers. You showed us how to love one another deeply, from the heart (1 Peter 1:22). Help us to follow Your example. I want to give everyone what I owe him, including respect and honor (Romans 13:7).
Thought for the Day:
Unconditionally love yourself, just as you love those closest to you, despite their faults.
