Love is not money!

In our world today it is often said that we throw around the word "love" too loosely and have weakened its meaning.  That is true in some instances, however, we really take it a step further on how we actually love when it comes to our day to day life.  Donald Miller's book (soon to be movie), "Blue Like Jazz" is a perfect example of a book that is full of some real talk.  Towards the end of this book he discusses love and how we mistreat it.  How easy is it for us to feel like we have a set amount of love we can give each day and we are faced with the task of dividing it out the way we see fit?  This is understandable in a sense because we have a limited amount of time and energy, but really the amount of love we can show for others has no ceiling.  When a parent has a second child, the love they have MULTIPLIES and does not divide between the two kids.

Why is this important to realize? Simply because love is vital to everyone's life, especially those of us within the Christian faith.  When Jesus was asked to share the single most important calling, he responded by saying, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

Pretty cut and dry, huh? The struggle happens when we try to actually live this out.  Following Jesus is never easy, but the reality of it is that it is never that complicated.  God's love for us is so great it is beyond our comprehension.  In return, he seeks a relationship with us and desires that we give him and others the best we have.  There is nothing wrong with having a inner circle of friends (Jesus only rolled 12 deep in his) but don't circle the wagons and stop there.  In the book of Hosea it states, "Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love."

I for one am imperfect in this pursuit, good intentions and a big heart only go so far (that conversation is for another day), but it is an approach that is worthwhile and beneficial in many ways.  Let's not be stingy with our love for God and others, most of us can agree that it is a powerful thing and it's free to give!

Until next time...