How do we know if we're in love? What are the signs? Most people judge by the way they feel. But the love that's associated with our feelings is only one kind of love.
The kind of love I'm talking about is Agape love: the God kind of love. This is the love that God has towards His Son, and towards humanity. This is the type of love He wants us to have for one another. Love such as this comes only from the Holy Spirit's abiding presence within us.
The bible tells us that God IS LOVE. Love is who He is, and love is what He does. And true loves is demonstrated by actions. Romans 5:8 tells us, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The proof of our love, or lack of love, is expressed through our actions. Each time we spend time with God in prayer, we are spending time with Love. Through continued fellowship with Him, the very nature and essence of Who God is starts to rub off on us, and it shows up in our actions.
As parents, we want our children's behavior to be a reflection of who we are and what we've put in them. God our heavenly Father desires the same for us. Since He is love, He commands us to love. He wants us to love Him with all of our hearts, and then love others the way we love ourselves. This is a simple concept, but is it easy to acheive? It seems that we have no problem fulfilling this command when we're dealing with sweet loveable people, but what about those who are unlovely? That's another story all together. God didn't make a distinction between the loveable and the unlovely did He? He didn't tell us to love those who show us love, nor did He say to love those who are easy to love. He simply commands us to love. But thanks be to God, who in His infinate wisdom and mercy, knows our human weaknesses. Therefore He allows us time to mature and be perfected in love. Because our love is really put to the test whenever we encounter unlovely people. It's always easier to become angry and treat people the way they treat us, instead of responding in love.
Recently, during a time of fasting and prayer, God begin to deal with me about relationships. What He revealed has liberated me, and transformed the way I interact with people. I had to take a look at how I respond when I'm misunderstood or treated unfairly. You see, God cares about how we're treated, but He also cares about the way we respond to how we're treated. God made it very clear to me, that I(we) have a responsibility to respond with love, no matter how someone treats me(us). We all will one day give account to God for our actions towards others, and they will have to answer to Him for their actions towards us. Doesn't that make sense? Walking in love may not be easy, but we can do it with God's help. We simply allow His love to flow through us, and it has absolutely nothing to do with our "feelings".
If you want to know if you're really in love, ask yourself these questions based on I Corinthians 13 (Living Bible). If you're honest with yourself, you'll see how you really measure up.
1. Am I patient?
2. Am I kind?
3. Am I jealous or envious of others?
4. Am I boastful or proud?
5. Am I haughty, selfish, or rude?
6. Do I demand my own way?
7. Am I irritable or touchy?
8. Do I hold grudges or do I hardly notice when others are wrong?
9. Am I glad about injustice or do I rejoice when truth wins out?
10. Am I loyal to those I love, no matter the cost?
11. Do I always believe in those I love and expect the best of them?
12. Do I always stand my ground in defending them?
I don't know about you, but I'm still growing in love. It's a day by day journey, and every person we encounter durning the course of each day gives us opportunities to practice and exercise our love. Even one "yes" answer to any of the questions above shows us there's room for growth. Love is God's standard and He wants us to be perfected in love. All we need to do is be willing to allow Him to do a work in us.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. I John 4:11,12
In His love,
Kathy
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