{"id":422,"date":"2011-02-11T16:18:32","date_gmt":"2011-02-11T16:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chadstutzman.net\/?p=422"},"modified":"2011-02-11T16:18:32","modified_gmt":"2011-02-11T16:18:32","slug":"loving-well-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadstutzman.com\/?p=422","title":{"rendered":"Loving Well Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With Valentines Day just around the corner, love is on most peoples mind right now.\u00a0 Whether married or single, people are born with the need to be loved and to love.\u00a0 If an infant does not receive love through touching and caring they do not develop properly.\u00a0 I believe that does not change as we get older.\u00a0 If we don’t experience unconditional love, we do not develop properly emotionally.\u00a0 We also cannot love other people well if we do not feel loved ourselves.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately we live in a broken world, where there is no perfect love.\u00a0 As humans we all fall short in this area of life.\u00a0 We may have our moments, but in the long run all of us struggle to love perfectly.\u00a0 I cannot love my wife on my own, only with the help of God can I love her the way Christ loved the church.\u00a0 In 1 John 4:17-21 we hear a clear message about love:<\/p>\n

“God is love.\u00a0 When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.\u00a0 This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day-our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.\u00a0 There is no room in love for fear.\u00a0 Well-formed love banishes fear.\u00a0 Since fear is crippling, a fearful life-fear of death, fear of judgment- is one not yet fully formed in love.\u00a0 We, though, are going to love-love and be loved.\u00a0 First we were loved, now we love.\u00a0 He loved us first.\u00a0 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar.\u00a0 If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see?\u00a0 The command we have from Christ is blunt:\u00a0 Loving God includes loving people.\u00a0 You’ve got to love both.”<\/em><\/p>\n

So God has shown us the way in which to love and has called us to now love other people that way.\u00a0 When God is living in us, His love shines through us.\u00a0 He gives us the strength to love someone that is unlovable.\u00a0 The way in which we love is evidence of our relationship with God.<\/p>\n

So what does loving well look like?\u00a0 It is a daily challenge for us to love well.\u00a0 We are tested constantly through difficult people and circumstances.\u00a0 That is why it is so important for us to be growing closer to God each day.\u00a0 I know for me, when I start to let my relationship with God slip, I start to fail many of the love tests that come my way.\u00a0 I tend to have a shorter fuse and be less patient with the people around me.<\/p>\n

To read about the way of love click here<\/a><\/p>\n

Loving well takes a mindset and an attitude of humility and meekness.\u00a0 Most people struggle with the idea of being humble and meek, but listen to what God has to say about those qualities:<\/p>\n

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2<\/em><\/p>\n

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.\u00a0 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”\u00a0 Philippians 2:3-4<\/em><\/p>\n

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”\u00a0 Matthew 5:5<\/em><\/p>\n

It takes great strength and courage to be a man or women of humility and meekness.\u00a0 It is not a sign of weakness but of great strength.\u00a0 To love well a person must be humble and meek.\u00a0 Meek means to be gentle, patient and submissive.\u00a0 Those qualities are rare these days, but in order to love well they are needed.\u00a0 So here are my closing thoughts on Loving Well:<\/p>\n