week 1: Love
thursday
Love is Directed
”As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
John 15:9
When I was little, my parents told me I used to always run up to random strangers and give them hugs, talk to them, or I would want to sit in their lap. As a child I had no discernment as to the people I should trust and the people who I probably shouldn’t be running up to. But even as a child I knew the difference between running up to my parents and running up to a total stranger. My parents were familiar. My parents were safe and they made me feel loved because they fed me, took care of me and catered to my every need.
As adults when we think about love we can sometimes revert back to little children. We throw ourselves at people hoping they will give us attention, or let us sit in their laps. In our eagerness to find love in someone, we can compromise our discernment in order to feel loved. Especially those of you who never even had a home that you felt loved in. Can I just say right now that I am sorry. I am sorry for the ways in which you have been abused, unloved, mistreated or abandoned. I am saddened over the things you choose to do for the sake of love and for the hole it may have dug in your heart. But can I share some comfort with you as well? No matter where you have chosen to abide, or the laps you have been forced to sit in, God gives you a way out. When you abide in Him, he promises to keep you safe under the shadow of His wings. God will always greet you with open arms that are ready to hold you tight, and a lap that is safe and secure. In God you are safe. In God you are able to not only abide but thrive under His love.
When you abide in Christ you are able to grow fruit that is not only beneficial for you but beneficial for those around you. On the other hand when you abide in someone or something apart from Christ you will grow bitter fruit. Instead of the fruits of the spirit your fruit will be that of fear, anger, sadness, self-indulgence, undue pressure, insecurity, hopelessness. So run to Christ, as His loved child.
Questions to Ponder:
Whose “love” are you trying to abide in?
Are there areas in your life that you think you have dug too far to get out of? Pray to God and share with Him how you feel.
Today’s Reading: