What's LOVE got to do with it? Everything! Love brings everything around to the simple answer. Real love takes away all the clutter and complications. "For God so Loved....". Love is unselfish. It brings things into focus and takes away all the questions. Love is an action word that comes with practice. I remember a time about 40 years ago when I first came to the knowledge of the Love of Jesus. My life was turned upside down by that knowledge. I was asked to share the reason for my life-change with the sister of a relative of mine. I was excited to share. The only problem was, I was carrying around a lot of misconceptions. I thought I needed to look a certain way and sound a certain way to make an impression. The truth of the matter was, she just needed to hear the words and sense the truth. I had my focus on "me". How did I look? What was I wearing? Did my hair look right? Was I sounding "cool"? Fortunately, God can work through all of that. As we mature in the Lord and in Life, we learn that Love is not about performance orientation. If you look at real Love, it is not focused on self but on others. Healthy love of self comes by believing what God says about us in His Word. He tells us that we are so valued that he gave his Son, Jesus, to die in our place, deserving nothing short of death ourselves. He loves us enough to have given the ultimate sacrifice to bring us into relationship with Him, namely to be called Sons and Daughters. Love is a state of being... in Christ. As we understand that aspect, we are free to direct our focus onto others. It begins to come naturally. Being less self-focused brings a peace that opens our eyes to the needs of others and enables us to recognize their needs are not unlike our own. We all need Love. Enveloped in that Love is Grace and Forgiveness. When we attempt to operate under the performance/perfection model as opposed to the simple and real Love model, we will feel like failures as the afflictions of humanity make their way into our lives such as aging, physical afflictions, loss of ability or agility, bouts of depression or dealing with the normal "seasons" of life. Love is a constant and is not affected by change. There is no end to it. Love is eternal. "For God so Loved the World that he Gave His only Begotten Son that Whoever Believes in Him should not Perish but have Eternal Life." John 3:16. God is Love. As we Know Love we can Give Love. Pure and simple without the maze of clutter and complications. This CHRISTMAS and ALWAYS, let's remember that Love has EVERYTHING to do with it." Love Endures Forever." "Love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul mind and strength and Love you neighbor as yourself."
