Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Thursday 2/19/09)

Who Told You Love Doesn't Cost?

John 3:16 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁶⁾ For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified Bible)

⁴⁾ Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

    ⁵⁾ It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

    ⁶⁾ It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

    ⁷⁾ Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

    ⁸⁾ Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

     I have heard people say that you will always know what you love by two things, by what you spend your money on and what you spend your time doing.  Well, to look at my bank statements you would know that there are basically only two things that I love and cherish, first is God and the second is my family.  All of my time is spent giving to those two causes.  I do spend my time giving to others and other things that I value, but those are the two where I have placed my treasures.  My greatest areas of sacrifice are in these two areas according to what I give and what I spend time on.  If you looked in your check book or at your credit card statement or if you sat down and thought about the things you spend your time doing and concentrating on what would they be?  What has you captivated?  For so many of us it has little to do with anyone else and all to do with ourselves.

     I love the commercials that focus on the priceless moments, but if you really look at those commercial everything surrounding that priceless moment, and everything that caused that moment to be what it was, cost the individual something.  Whatever made you think that a good relationship of any kind would not cost you something valuable, something that meant something to you.  Abraham waited for so many years for the promises of God to be fulfilled in his life in the area of off spring.  God let him enjoy the promise and then requested it of him, yes it was a test to see if he would be obedient enough to give back to God what He had given; but the thing most of us miss in that is that just the act of saying "yes," cost Abraham, it cost him his will and his heart's desire, even if only for a moment.  If we are one with God and we call ourselves sons and daughters of God then why don't we follow His lead in the area of love?  God loved us enough to "give us" His ONLY son.  Jesus loved us so much He gave His LIFE. So, why are we finding it so difficult to follow suit?  Probably because it cost us.  Giving of ourselves and sacrificing often is painful and uncomfortable and causes us to have to bring our flesh under subjection in order to accomplish it.  For many of us that is a deal breaker, we want to love and to be loved but it can not cost us, or we have frame work in which we will and won't sacrifice, and what we will and will not pay.

     For you, what is too much? For you it may be God's request for us to do right by someone we view that has done us wrong.  For others we can not even get past the thought of stopping something God has asked us to.  For someone reading this, God has asked you to come and talk to Him, submit to Him and wait on Him, and you have refused.  To really know love, it is going to cost you something, not just things that you are willing to give, but so often it is the things we do not want to give or the things we are in refusal to give that will cause us to find true love, peace and favor in God's presence.  Will you continue to think love doesn't cost a thing, when in actuality it may very well cost you the most precious thing to some of you and that would be you.  Think about your love language you may need a remedial course in sacrifice.