20 Now to Him
Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within
us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above
all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers,
desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—
21 To Him be glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.
Amen (so be it) (biblegateway.com – AMP).
God ALWAYS blesses
us over and above anything we could ever ask or think; He ALWAYS gives
us His very best!! God loves us just that much!! God is a great example of love
because He is love!! He shows us how to love, what love is, and how to treat
the ones we love!!! We cannot love others until we realize how much God loves
us; His love causes us to love Him, ourselves, and others!!
When
you love someone, you SHOW him or her AND tell
them; don't ASSUME he or she knows!! Yes, they might do know
but still tell and show them often; never have them guessing or wondering about
your love for them-this can cause them to be insecure and have low
self-esteem!!
Love is an
action word; it requires action on the part of both recipient and
issuer!! NEVER take the one you say you love for granted!! We
as humans need to love people with God's love because our love stink!!! We
cannot love anyone in our own capacity!!!
God's love
is shed abroad in our hearts from person to person by the Holy Spirit!! Love is
a fruit of the Holy Spirit along with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians
5:22-23)!
The word
"love" has so many meanings, it has been perverted by the world, but
we nee to live by God's definition of love in 1
Corinthians 13:4-8:
4 Love endures
long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils
over with jealousy, is not boastful or vain
glorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not
conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does
not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own
rights or its own way, for it is not
self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful;
it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered
wrong].
6 It does not
rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when
right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears
up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to
believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all
circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8 Love never
fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy
(the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be
fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be
destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it
will lose its value and be superseded by truth] (biblegateway.com – AMP).
This is
what 1
Corinthians 13 starts off saying (verses 1-3):
1If I [can]
speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that
reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s
love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I
have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose),
and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess
all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains,
but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).
3 Even if I
dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my
body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but
have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.
This lets us
know nothing else matters if we do not allow God's love to operate in us!!
Therefore, we need to allow God to love people through us!!!
If we are
Christ's disciples, we are to show the love of God; that is how people will
know we are His disciples-know that we belong to God!! We might not
"feel" like it all the time but it is not about us, it is about
Jesus!! This walk is NOT about us but about showing Jesus to
everyone we meet; we are His disciples, His followers, just as the disciples of
old and we too are to tell and show the Gospel, the Good News, to everyone we
meet!!!
Once
we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior our lives become a show and
tell; we not only tell (testify) of God's goodness but people will see with
their own eyes the goodness of God - they will see we are NOT what
or who we use to be!! That is why we MUST live what we preach;
we CANNOT say we are of God and continue to deliberately live the
same way!! Some people might not never go to church; we might be the only
"church" they come in contact with so we must tell them about Jesus
and show them the love of God whether we feel like it or not!! WE must deny
ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus; we are to be led by the
Spirit of God so we will not be subject to the flesh but to the Holy Spirit!! Like
the part of The Lord's Prayer say "Thy will be done on earth as it
is in heaven...!" We are telling God as Jesus did when He
said "Not My will but Thine be done...!" We must
forget about ourselves, what WE want and what WE need and become vessels of
honor by allowing the Holy Spirit to do in us what needs to be done!!
We will not
be able to love God or anyone else until we get rid of selfishness!! It cannot
be our way it has to be God's way; we must acknowledge God in ALL our
ways so He can direct our path in EVERYTHING we do!! As I said before,
God gives us His very best; He does not half bless us, God does not half
provide for us, He does not half protect us, etc. Therefore, we should give the
ones we love our very best; quality time, show and tell we love them, etc. -
this is whether the relationship is friends or family (natural or spiritual)!!
I know we all get "busy" but we should never be too busy for the ones
we love; we need to learn how to prioritize our lives, putting first things
first!!! God should come first, He should be our #1 priority, then husband or
wife, then children, family, etc. These are the people who should be at the top
of our priority list!
Jesus said
in Matthew
22:36-40 that we are to love our God with all
our heart, all our soul, and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves;
neighbors are not only the person next door but also the people we meet every
day!! According to thefreedictionary.com,
one of the definitions for "neighbor" is "another
human."
I have said
it before, we love everyone with the love of God but that does not mean
everybody is supposed to be in your close, intimate circle!! I use to have a
problem with people when I felt they were violating my "space;" I
felt uncomfortable when they would get too close to me-did not understand why!
But now God has taught and still is teaching me about this; everyone you meet
was not meant to become intimately acquainted with you - to become your bosom
buddy - for you to share ALL your heart with!! It is very
important to be led by God who to connect with in this capacity; I have gotten
hurt countless times by thinking everybody was my bosom buddy-even people
naming the Name of Jesus-mostly by those naming the Name of Jesus-so be
careful!! Be led by God in EVERYTHING you do!!
We are to
treat ALL people like we want to be treated; if we want
respect we should give and show respect, if we want a kind word we should give
a kind word, if we want love we should give and show love, etc. let us take the
example from our Heavenly Father as to how to love people; the Holy Spirit
lives in us and if we allow Him to, He will love people through us!!
I have heard
people say "He or she is just like their father (in a good or bad
way)." I want people to be able to look at me and say (whether out loud or
to themselves) "She is like her Heavenly Father;" I want people to be
able to see the God in me!! What about you?
May God
bless you and keep you!
Dr. Dorothy
E. Hooks
