Hello Everyone!  It's a great day with the Lord!

I asked God for inspiration today, for what the topic of my next post should be.  I was looking at different scripture, waiting for God to point me in the right direction.  

I came to the book of Luke, and the section heading is titled the "Law of Love." The light came on and I knew that God wanted me to talk about love.  

Love sounds like an easy subject, right?  We love and cherish people that love and cherish us. What else is to discuss?  According to Jesus there are laws to the love that is spoken about in the new testament.  There are two scripture sections, both titled, "Laws of Love."

See:  Luke 6:27-36

See: Matthew 5:43-48

Please go to your Bible, either in book form or online and read the passages.  As I share what God as directing me.

Love your enemies - do good to those that hate you.  Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you (Luke 6:27).  Treat others, especially your enemies as you would want to be treated. (Luke 6:31)

Matthew 5:43 says, But I (Jesus) say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Not exactly great love talk as most might think of it.  I love my family, I love my friends, I love some of my co-workers, I love the lady down the street that always has nice things to say.  Most people's idea of love is sharing that love with who we already know and appreciate.

Finding the true meaning of love should be a goal in our search for a deeper relationship with God.  Jesus is telling us how to do this in the scriptures above.  Loving someone that does not love you, but instead is rude and hurtful, is not easily done and is absolutely necessary.

It feels great, to love and be loved in return.  But what does loving someone, that loves you back already, show God?  Nothing, because it is already a fact and is easily done.  What is in this type of love that can deepen your relationship with Him?  You do nothing more than anyone else by greeting only your brothers and sisters  (Matthew 5:47).  So when you do nothing more than the next person, you don't show God what you are capable of, what He needs from you.  

I had two instances this week, where I showed the Love of Jesus through my actions.

The first, I saw an older man standing outside my pharmacy.  I went in, did what I needed and came out.  When I was passing by the man, I heard him mumble "you wouldn't have a could bucks would you?" I automatically said "no." Then I stopped and told him I didn't have two but I did have one dollar bill in my purse, which was the truth.  He said, "that's better than nothing," so I shared my dollar and went onto my vehicle.  I sat there for a moment thinking about that interaction.  Then I grabbed my wallet and looked through my change.  I had 8 quarters in there, so I pulled them out, drove around to where the man stood, rolled my window down and handed him two dollars in change.  The man said thank you, and I drove away.

The second instance was this morning.  I went to the post office, but it was still closed, not to open for another 25 minutes.  There was an older woman with a walker going, slowly and what seemed painfully, back to her car as I passed by.  I went in and saw that the part where you paid for things was still closed.  I saw a sign saying that it wouldn't be opened until 9:30 a.m.  Going back to my car, the older woman asked if I knew what time it would open and I gave her the information.  I didn't care to sit there, so I drove down a block to a Dunkin Donuts, to get myself a donut.  I felt compelled to buy extra, so I did.  When I came back to the post office to wait, I grabbed a napkin, picked a donut out and offered it to the older woman waiting in her car.  She appreciated it very much, which made me feel so good that I could do something nice for her while she waited 

These two instances show that doing a kindness, for people we don't even know, can bring an unexpected richness into our lives. It's called "love" for your fellow humans.  I didn't have much, but I blessed them with what I had and my loving nature.  In turn I am blessed by them.  God saw what I did and will bless me in turn for doing good to people in need.

 I have known people in my past that have hurt or angered me.  With God's love, I have been able to forgive and move forward.  I did not try to strike out, but if I hurt them I apologized.  That is love as well, forgiveness and moving forward, not staying stagnate on the negative.  Loving you enemy does not mean they have to turn into your best friend.  It means that there should no longer be emnity on your part for them. 

These are the kinds of love Jesus is talking about, loving others that are in need, and and forgiving hurtful things that people do.  This is how Jesus showed his love for all people, every day of his ministry on earth.  He especially showed his love when he gave his life to save all humanity. 

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now faith, hope and love abide these three, and  the greatest of these is love.

Such an important lesson to hear, heed and act upon.  Look to God, show him all your good works.  The greatest of these is love. Hallelujah!  Amen!