Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Free to love!
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Galatians 5:13-14 “For you are called to freedom, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Boy, if loving meant that I could just throw my arms around that someone and give a great big hug alongside the words “I love you”, I would be a pro at loving others! Why is it that loving someone well doesn’t always look that way? For me, that’s a selfish kind of love, what I mean is, it comes as a natural act of affection. It is in fact a characteristic of my own self-love. Self-love is defined as “an undue sparing of self, with the primary concern that things be easy and pleasant for one’s self” AAHHHG! Does that mean love can get a little uncomfortable?! I guess the cross is the perfect picture of uncomfortable love.
Last year I was fortunate enough to join a women’s retreat that did the Beth Moore retreat in a box, it was on Loving Well. We each got little journals to take home and complete over the next four weeks (I am so bad, I didn’t finish it, my new goal to do!), one of the questions asked was “What positive changes might result if you allow God Complete access to your heart?” When I went back and read over this journal I was surprised by my own answer: “I know there are many! Deeper relationships with honesty, protected by God Himself. God just doesn’t work the same way I do – when He preserves me and protects me I can still be vulnerable and love well. When I protect myself, I am distant and cold.” Tawny told me at the TRF retreat that she thought my “Egypt” (slavery) was not allowing myself to feel anything. How right she is!!! So if my freedom is to “feel” deeply for others than that can only be accomplished by being completely vulnerable yet secure in God’s perfect love.
Perfect love is a love that is complete or reaches its goal. The Greek word for perfect love is teleios and its definition is “love which is mature, not lacking boldness or confidence and therefore, not hampered by insecurity or anxiety which is characteristic of immature love.” Beth goes further to say, “There is no question that God loves us, but are we allowing Him to appropriate His love to us? To the degree that we battle insecurity and anxiety, we are not letting the love of God reach its goal in our hearts. God’s Word says that we are not yet mature in love-not how we love, but how we allow God to love us-if we are fraught with insecurity. It is the outgrowth of unbelief. No matter how we dress it and try to make it look like humility, it is unbelief. Its root is pride.”
Why do I even bring any of this up? Well, I had to step out in faith this weekend and demonstrate some very uncomfortable love! I feel a little foolish but free, and ooohhhh so thankful that God first loved me! I want deeper relationships that are protected by God Himself!
With love, Julene
Julene Saunders, Christian work from home mom and happy Uri International Independent Distributor
Are you sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? Want to fire your boss and work from home? Check out our opportunity here: http://www.urilife.com/bearingfruit
Tags: God loves us, God, Galatians, God’s Word, God’s perfect love, Beth Moore, freedom, LORD, Christian Home Business
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3 comments
Andresa on April 22, 2008 at 6:46 am
I love love love that retreat’s message! And I love love love you. Fortunately there is no pain or discomfort in loving you
! I know sometimes when I start feeling overwhelmed (like now) I start to “shut down” emotionally in order to get done what I need to get done, and I really need to break that “habit”. Thanks for the reminder to let God love me, even in the overwhelmed times!
Julene on April 22, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Thanks Andresa:) Love you too!!! I know very well how the overwhelmed times can get, you’ll get through and how great it will be when you do!
tawny on April 23, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Whew, I finally am going to get to do this. I have started twice before and had to go do something else. I loved this post (and not just cause you talked about me :). It is weird that loving is so hard. It seems like it should be easy because we all want it so badly. Everything good is hard though, it seems. I loved the definition of perfect love. I will be stealing that and putting it on my blog soon, just so you know.