What does love look like?

M

mguldner Nov 7, 2010

Brothers and Sisters,

I must confess, especially after listening to brother Alan Martins Sermon from the revival conference that I don't know the Love of Christ. That my hands are filthy and my heart complacent. How does one obtain this Love? What does it feel like? and what Does it do to a man?

But most importantly what does it look like in me? How do I relate to this love? Have I obtained this Love but is it still entangled by my immaturity?

S

sojourner7 Nov 7, 2010

Love is selfless devotion to GOD,
sacrifice , and service. Love changes
a heart of stone into a heart of
flesh, love transforms a life and
gives it meaning and purpose.
Love is best described in I Corinthians
Ch 13. Search your soul and see
if you possess that kind of love.
Earnestly desire the love of Christ
and hunger for it; and it will
possess you!!

sermonindex Nov 7, 2010

Love is a verb, a choice. We obtain it by loving others, a choice. It feels good. It rules a man's life and makes him pleasing to God. It will look different in different people's lives because of different situations, but the underlying idea is the same (good will). We can only relate to being loving by actually being loving. If we refuse to love (by selfishness) then we risk our minds becoming darkened and forgetful. Immaturity means mistakes not willful rebellion. God requires that we love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, strength - not with with more than all of these. His commands are perfectly suited to our ability - no more, no less.

The fact that God commands love is proof that we are able to love.
The fact that we are able to love is proof that we are able to know whether we are loving or not.

It is good, and most simple, to love ourselves. When we love ourselves, we consider what would be best for ourselves (most pleasing in the long run) and then choose accordingly.

Likewise, when we love others, we must not be solely occupied by considering ourselves, our own thoughts, feelings, etc. We must occupy our minds with considering what would be best for the other person, what would be most pleasing to them in the long run.

The same for loving God. We must consider what would please God the most and how important his happiness is.

Love requires us to be honest with ourselves about our actions and motives. But love also requires us to take our focus off of ourselves and put it on to the value of the greatest possible happiness of God and others.

In baseball I might take some time to look at the bat and select a bat to hit the ball with. But when I am swinging the bat to hit the ball, I am not watching the swinging bat, I have my eyes on the ball. Both are necessary. A broken bat won't work, and forgetting to keep my eyes on the ball won't work either.

sermonindex Nov 7, 2010

Dear Matty,
this morning i was so blessed by reading thru the Book of Ruth, and its a Book so replete with the Love of Messiah, it almost takes your breath away.

a lonely, grief stricken, impoverished widow, with two daughters-in-law of Moabite parentage, gives them leave, tells them, you can go back to your kin, start over, i have nothing to give you but hard times, so one Orpah kisses her bye bye, but Ruth says this:

"But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."
Ruth 1:16-17 (ESV)

i submit humbly, there is one very clear illustration of love....both women's stomach's were probably rumbling, they were alone, hearts heavy, grief stricken, and the road ahead unknown and fraught with peril, yet Ruth with no agenda, stuck with Naomi.

thats just one example of many in the Word. another Chapter of Scripture i find of profit in the realm of Love, is 1st John chapter 4. much fruit there.
neil

J

Joyful_Heart Nov 7, 2010

The more we get to know the Lord Jesus the more we will fall in love with Him and the more we fall in love with Him the more He will love through us. We cannot love our enemies or what we think is the unlovely person without God doing it through us.

1 Cor. 13 and then 1 Cor 14:1 Pursue love.

Galatians 5 The Fruit of the Spirit..

The Lord says that we should hide the Word of God in our hearts so we will not sin against Him.

When we know Him, His Word, the Holy Spirit can come and convict us with the Word and at that point in our weakness we can call upon Him to forgive and to help. He loves to help us to become more like Him. And soon that which we could not do on our own will soon be a victory and God will take over more of us. We become more like Him. Glory to God.

God has called us to love and sometimes I just dont want to love someone who has wronged me or my family. I just dont want to. I acknowledge this to the Lord and I ask Him to help me because I know He forgave me and I must forgive and leave it in His hands. It's His job to revenge or whatever He pleases and it's my job to keep my heart right before Him.

He is helping me in this area. I have come a long way but I have more to give up of self as well. God be glorified in all of us as we decrease with His help - He can increase. Glory to the Son of God.

sermonindex Nov 7, 2010

Mguldner, every answer from everyone should be, "I don't know".

We can make our declarations based upon the bible, love is this and love is that, but this is something that goes beyond mental knowledge, which we all can attest to. Your question requires experience and you alone can't be convinced by anyone's experience, you have to experience it yourself. And I think your prayer should be geared in that direction. I also think you'll be surprised by the answer to which God will show Himself through you or someone else exactly what this love looks like. In fact most of us never see it, it must be an illumination of the Spirit of God.

sermonindex Dec 8, 2010

i don't know

H

HeartSong Dec 8, 2010

First He wrapped me in His love. Then He showed me how unlovely I was. Then He began to work all of that unloveliness out of me so that I might be conformed to that which my heart desired more than anything else in this world - that being HIM.

I still have a long way to go - but that is no matter for He is with me each step of the way.

"What does it fell like?" - heaven

"What does it do to a man?" - it slays him

As for the rest, ask Him to show you.

sermonindex Dec 8, 2010

Good Morning ! !

I am so blessed this morning by your subject.

Thank you,and

may you all (and me too) be blessed by a double
helping of HIS love this day.

L

Lysa Dec 8, 2010

Matthew,

You are on the narrow road, brother! There are many good answers and so I’ll throw my two cents in as well if that is ok.

We love by being love – walking in love towards them that are without (the guilty and the not guilty).

~~[b]~~“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”[/b] Matthew 22.36-40 You know, my personal opinion is that people (me included) get on here (SI) and argue over every jot and tiddle of “their” doctrine but have they (me included) actually kept this one commandment – loving our neighbors, giving and expecting nothing in return? (This begins in our own household first)

If any man will come after me, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Matthew 16.24; Mark 8.34; Luke 9.23

To me, this is the test of time... will I have denied myself so that I will resemble Jesus when I die or will I have dug my heels in the mud (in His name, of course) and still look like good ole Lisa when I stand before Him?!

You know bro Matt, having a holy love is so many things... the first step is right where you are: desiring it! That’s where it begins. Loving the unlovely and the unlovable... that's where God is.

God bless you and yours,
Lisa

E

Earendel Dec 8, 2010

We may say: "Oh, how utterly unworthy I am of all this grace and mercy!"

...but the messenger of God would say: "When God decided to show you His mercy, He did not consult your own unworthiness, but His own unbounded grace, goodness and vast love.

He saw how the grand enemy of souls desired your ruin, but He upheld you by His secret power. Through this, when Satan thought he had you, and that you were destroyed, the snare was broken and you have escaped."

...Of all the torments of hell, and that of the second death, of those who reject Christ, and of the just punishment of sin and recompense that unforgiven man who by willful choice made, who will be made to endure in the Lake of Fire...yet there is a better place to see the effects due to sin ....and that of God's love for us.

That place can be seen when you behold the blessed Son of God upon the cross. There we may see depths of God's love, and the terrible effects of sin...for He bore it on His body...that is to say man's sin.

There we may see all of sin's true evil, and that of God's love all at the same time. For all the sufferings of the damned souls of men and angels endure, are but the sufferings of created beings still; but on the cross ...on the cross, you see a suffering God.”

God is not untouched by us...How deep His love, to save a sinking dying soul from hell and death, that He took my place and said "it is finished" I receive you Lord Jesus, with all of my heart!