John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; Now remain in my love.
What does it mean to love? Some may think that loving someone is to be kind and compassionate to their needs by providing them with physical items and emotional support. The 5 love languages come to mind as you search to know how you or someone else desires to be loved. Many would say that love is found in peace and harmony among people.
I believe to understand the depths of love we must consider the first part of John 14:9 As the Father has loved me. God loves you with a righteous hand. Yes, our Father is there to guide us through everything, bring miracles upon us, perfectly orchestrate our life, and never, ever leave us. God also has wrath and will call us out when we are not making choices according to his will. His love isn’t just rainbows and unicorns. As a parent watches over their children, he will do what is needed to keep us safe and there are consequences to our actions.
God does not cause bad things to happen as a lesson for us though and his wrath is against the evil in the world, not you! This is so very important to understand that God is not punishing you, but rather the sin in you and the world. He has given you free will to walk with him, walk away from him, or even to return to Him. When we turn away from his laws and choose to do evil, God hands us over to the death and disorder we have brought upon ourselves. The awesome thing is that once we realize that WE have walked away from God, all we need to do is turn back to him and he will welcome us back. It doesn’t take much at all for God to welcome us back because we will always and forever be a child of God. He is never not our Father.
We must know that God’s wrath is not like human anger. “God’s wrath is the just and measured response of His holiness towards evil” Colin Smith. This quote came from a fabulous article written by Colon Smith found at https://openthebible.org/article/five-ways-gods-anger-not-like-ours . God is slow to anger and very calculated in all that he does because he loves us. God wants nothing more than to love us, but part of that love is giving us free will to choose him.
When I think of what it means to love, rather than turning to the 5 love languages seeking guidance on ways to show my love, I consider free will and the wrath of God. To love someone, I support and encourage them in any way that I can. When I see them walking a path I think may be harmful, I try to guide them using the Word as my source. Ultimately, if they choose to take a path not pleasing to me or their benefit, I respect their choice and turn to prayer for God’s intervention to bring them back to HIM. If they ever choose to turn back to me, just like God, I will open my arms to them.
Maybe you are struggling with someone in your life that you keep showing love to and they keep making bad choices. Is it tearing at your heart? That’s exactly what God feels! I encourage you to love them as God loves us. He gives us our freedom. He does not exhaust himself, enable us to continue to do evil, buy us, or allow us to take advantage of his love. He says these are my commandment which I strongly urge you to follow. That is his love.
Jesus loved as His Father loved him. Jesus opened his arms to anyone who believed and he sure let the Pharisees know when they were doing evil. He cared about the Pharisees and all those who did not believe and lived a life of sin, so he had to call them out or they would never see their evil ways.
That is how Jesus showed the love that his Father has for him. That is how God loves us, how Jesus loves us, and how we should love each other. Love is showing someone their ways, providing options, respecting their decision, and always welcoming them back if they have strayed.
John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; Now remain in my love.
Voyage to HEAL Weekly Task
Stretch: Let’s soften our face upon the Lord. Either both at the same time or one at a time, grab your cheek and pull. You can grab your cheek on the outside or hook a finger into the inside of your cheek and pull it outward.
Exercise: Sing! Turn that core and pelvic floor on and belt away for a good 5-10 minutes. Exercise should be fun.
Habitual Change: Do you scrunch your face when reading or concentrating? I didn’t realize that I did this until I filmed some of the videos for the website. I never knew I was creating so much tension in my face as I concentrated. People also bite their tongue for balance and to concentrate. Become aware of the tension in your face throughout your day and see if maybe you have this habit too. Obviously, if you do, try to be soft. Squinting will also bring on tension, so wear your shades outside and get glasses if you need to see things more clearly.
Perspective enlightenment: I accept God’s love into my heart so I can love others as he has loved me.
Journaling option: How do you love yourself? How have you loved God? How has God loved you?
This week’s blog post coincides with week 7: The Voice of God. You can purchase this week in the store on the webpage. You can also purchase the Inner Peace Meditation CD or start your full online Voyage to HEAL. Click here to visit the online store to find all of these items. Most importantly, start being kind to yourself always. As God gives you grace, so should you give it to yourself. Stop fighting yourself. Instead, love yourself.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Voyage to HEAL Weekend Excursion on Friday, November 11th to Saturday the 12th or on Friday, March 3rd to Saturday the 4th! Click here to register.
Godspeed on your Voyage to HEAL
Love,
Jocelyn
