Little Children, part III

Ok so, 1 John is my favorite New Testament letter - many of you know this (or at least, now you do).

Any and all love that is shone / poured out from our mouths / hands is only a response and outpouring of love received. 

I find myself so often praying "to see Your love afresh." My anxiety (due to procrastination mostly) tends to blind me from this Love, which is like none other. When His love is being blocked from my heart - how am I to extend grace (read: love) to my roommate? to my friends? to the worship team? ...to myself?

We must accept the love from the Father. Feeling far from the love of God is not uncommon for sinners. Sin is the gap that, without Christ, separates us from God. "Thanks be to God... for neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing is able to separate us from the love of God - which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8, butchered from memory). We must experience his forgiveness and grace (see 1 John 1:9) inwardly and daily, in order to live it outwardly. 

Freaking chapter 4:19 "We love, because He first loved us." (NASB)

1 John 3:16-18 "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children (I love when he says "little children"...it means "hey if you're sleeping - wake up - time for the point") let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." (NASB)

James 2:15-16 "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use it that?" (NASB)

Our roommates and friends and those around us are to be treated above ourselves (see part II, below). Our time, our desires, our money - is not our own! It is for God, it is for others. (read: I am a hypocrit. Here i am talking about money and I'm the one flying to Vegas to see DMB on one hand and telling my friend in East Asia that I'm going to be late on giving him his support. I say these things because I need to hear them. please know this.)

examples of this: folding laundry, cleaning kitchens/bathrooms/living rooms, making beds, taking out trash, buying the TP, cooking breakfast/lunch/dinner for those around, offering to make starbucks runs, giving rides, verbal encouragements, hugs, speaking spiritual truth, listening.... (the list goes on)

lol, listening? really? My roommates have listened to countless rants on all sorts of things, because I need to get it out and they listen (these can last up to an hour sometimes). They serve me so much in this way. 

to continue, sometimes those around us don't know what they need. Or they know it, but feel like its unattainable. For example, I have a friend and he sometimes (read: always) overbooks himself. We've chatted about this a few times, but this is a life lesson (I think, unfortunately) best learned the hard way.  This doesnt stop me from trying to help him. So today, "Hey bud - we're taking a break. Let's go hike bishops on monday after the crazy weekend." Although to me, it seems like another thing on his list, he was all over it and admitted to me (and himself) it was necessary.  (that was a long story to get to the point and I apologize.)

Last point: don't be afraid to receive love.  I am not perfect and you are not perfect. When a brother or sister wants to show love, why not allow them? (of course, this is within reason, just like our love to give must be in reason). 

Let Paul speak to us as he did to Titus and the church in Crete to be "sensible" (2:2, 5, 6, 12) and to be "sound in love" (2:2) and to be "zealous for good deeds" (2:14).

 ...thats all for now :)