Understanding Love

Caring for our own hearts isn’t selfishness; it’s how we begin to love. Yes, we care for our hearts for the sake of others. Does that sound like a contradiction? Not at all. What will you bring to others if your heart is empty, dried up, pinned down? Love is the point. And you can’t love without your heart, and you can’t love well unless your heart is well. When it comes to the whole subject of loving others, you must know this: how you handle…

God’s love can be hard to understand because it’s not like ours. We tend to love those whose character, attributes, and interests are appealing to us. But in God’s eyes, there is nothing attractive in us that makes us worthy of His affection. We are all sinners who have rebelled against Him. Out of divine mercy and grace, the heavenly Father chooses to love us. Through the sacrifice of His Son, He demonstrated His love to all those who would receive Jesus.…

Ultimately, submission centers us directly in the will of God and gives us the opportunity to experience the best we could ever imagine. Surrender. That’s the key. Orient yourself toward a posture of obedience—up front!— that’s how the door flings open for His voice to be heard and His will to be accomplished. The Lord says to those of His children who freely submit their wills to His: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you…

Some people don’t believe Jesus is God, so they claim He was simply a good person. Others may intellectually acknowledge Jesus as God’s Son but have no personal relationship with Him. His true followers, however, believe in their heart that Christ is Savior (Rom. 10:9) and they’ve been adopted into His family. Ephesians 2:1-2 says that those who don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus are spiritually dead and living according to the sin nature.…

The wounded horse was named Drummer Boy, one of 112 mounts carrying British soldiers into battle during the famed Charge of the Light Brigade. The animal showed such bravery and stamina that his assigned commander, Lieutenant Colonel de Salis, decided his horse deserved a medal as much as his valiant men. This was done even though their military action against enemy forces failed. Yet the cavalry’s valor, matched by the courage of their horses, established the clash…

Abiding in the love of God is our only hope, the only true home for our hearts. It's not that we mentally acknowledge that God loves us. It's that we let our hearts come home to him, and stay in his love. MacDonald says it this way: When our hearts turn to him, that is opening the door to him ... then he comes in, not by our thought only, not in our idea only, but he comes himself, and of his own will. Thus the Lord, the Spirit, becomes the soul of our souls ...…

To show respect to someone means that we esteem them. Even if we don’t agree with someone’s stance, we can still treat them respectfully. It’s not about feeling respect for them, but showing it to them. If you want to learn how to show respect to others, try spending time with someone who doesn’t agree with you. Showing respect when we think someone else’s viewpoint or belief system is completely wrong can be challenging. There are some things…

We’ll never completely agree with another person on everything. Not even our spouse or best friend. Of the nearly eight billion people in the world right now, there’s not a single person like you. That means there won’t be anyone with your exact viewpoint on life, politics, money, relationships, or religion. You are uniquely you, and so is the person next to you. Even though we're all different, we can still love others. Why is it important to love…

Jesus set love as the highest value in his kingdom’s economy. When asked what the greatest commandment in all of Scripture was, he responded with “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength,” but he refused to stop at one command; he added another, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But love is painfully time consuming. All parents know this, as do all lovers, and most long-term friends. There’s no shortcuts. No life.…