What God's Love Looks Like

When there is love in our hearts, we are not afraid to see the fragile side of someone, nor are we afraid for others to see our fragile side.

It is only Christ's love that can produce the kind of love that one person can have for another.

Criticism is not a problem, because when there is love, we know the one who does it is trying to help.

When we can put ourselves in the shoes of others, understanding their pain, loving to be there to help and allowing them to help us, then we have found God's love.

Love is not mechanical out of duty, it is genuinely invested in the welfare of another person. Showing interest in their things, even engaging in it with them at times.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."

Ephesians 4:2 "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,"

1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

The following verses tell us how much God loved us and what that looks like. If only we could be for others as Christ has been for us.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Romans 5:8 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

1 John 3:1 "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him."

Arguing for Sport is Sin

Fighting and arguing for sport is sin!

Those that engage in arguing for sport are nothing more than baiters, attempting to show their prowess by starting an argument, whether they speak truth or not, merely to appear superior to others.

Believers in Jesus Christ discuss matters to discover or share truth, not merely to win anything.

Proverbs 29:9
"9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool,
the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet."

Appearances are Nothing!

There is no brokenness over sin when there isn't enough sorry to hate to return what harmed others.

Those who do not confess their sin or admit to feelings are those who never grow in holiness.

Transparency is only possible when there is humility and a disregard for appearances.

When we are sold out to Christ, we can admit everything, pray for cleansing and move forward in growth.

Transparency is the key to spiritual growth and healing.

James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."

It is impossible to develop a meaningful and lasting relationship with those who are more concerned about appearing righteous rather than actually being so.