Love

God's love is unfailing. There is never a moment where His love does not extend itself to those who desire it. Even when we operate by our agendas, His love attempts to set boundaries to prevent us from trouble. When we step outside of God's will and find ourselves in trouble, His love navigates us through the storm. This unconditional love even allows us to gain wisdom and courage amid storms.

Trust God even when you cannot trust yourself. His love is not bound by human conditions. You will not be left to figure out life because of failures and poor choices when God is involved. God truly desires to save us all, but His love is not forceful. We must wholeheartedly desire to align with God's will and He will lead the way.

Scriptures

1. "4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."

   1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV

1. Response: The Bible details how to love and notes traits that do not align with God's standards of love. This scripture says that love is kind, it is not rude. We must be mindful that the energy we release to the world produces responses; being kind may lighten an individual's mood, while rudeness may fuel a fire. The rate of suicide, mental health disorders, and crime is steadily rising. We do not know when our words are the last that someone hears before making a decision in response to a crisis. Be kind and mindful of our charge to love others as kingdom builders for God.
2. "8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

   1 John 4:8 ESV

1. Response:

   By a self-proclaimed title, an individual can be a child of God but the authenticity of their heart says otherwise. God is love so a representative of God must also be love. If we are not filled with love, then we are not filled with God. We often love to the extent of worldly standards that eventually lead us to sin. The world teaches unforgiveness, hate, and all things dissension. Practicing things of the world will create in us a heart for the world, but God can create in us a clean heart and renew our minds. 

3. "12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses."

   Proverbs 10:12 ESV

1. Response: Hatred in times of trouble is like a strong gust of wind blowing into a forest fire. It is the fuel to heighten flames and spread the danger into new territories. Love is the perfect blast of rain that dispels every last ember. Since God is love, hate is the enemy. Whatever fills our hearts is a tell-all of who we represent, the kingdom of God or the world of sin. Our interactions with others and even how we treat ourselves will be driven by love or hate. The individual choices that we make will feed love or hate. Children of God must stay in the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) and avoid the snares of the enemy that would have us be of hate.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us. Thank You for being the captain of our souls. Your unconditional and unfailing love steers us through storms of life. When we have failed ourselves, Your love remains. In the chaos caused by our choices, You offer resolutions. Where would we be without Your gracious love? 

We approach the throne of grace with a simple request today: teach us how to love. Show us what it means to love like Corinthians 13:4-8, being kind, patient, and unselfish. Give us the strength to reproduce Your love even when all we receive is hate. Comfort us with the peace that surpasses our understanding of the world because it is not our job to stay fixed on this world. Remind us that there is more beyond this experience and show us the way to eternal life. 

In Jesus' Mighty Name

Hallelujah, Amen!

Photo Credits: Andrew Seaman (@amseaman on Unsplash)