The mark of a true disciple of Christ and a sure way to peace is love.
Christ loved us so much that He paid for our sins and died for us. His love is infinite and ever-present. He sees each of us as who we can become. He loves us for it and loves us even in the midst of our messiness. He is love–the perfect embodiment.
To love as He loves is the great possibility of our lives. I think it’s one of the reasons we came to earth.
Love is at the very center of our beings. Sometimes we cover it up with layers upon layers of comparison, jealousy, belittling, anger, and unrealistic expectations of others or ourselves. But deep down inside, it’s still there. Glowing brightly underneath all those suffocating layers.
So how do we peel away the layers to reveal the love that is inherently inside of us?
We give love away.
We give it freely and often.
We give it in this moment and the next and the next–never ceasing and never expecting any sort of reward or compensation.
We remove the “What can I get?” and replace it with “What can I give?”
It’s only natural to want others to serve us or to get some measure of praise or prize for serving. But that’s not who we really are. That’s just a layer of fog. We can love ourselves and others unconditionally–just as Christ loves us.
Give yourself the love you need to feel secure. Let yourself experience the all-encompassing love of Jesus Christ so you can feel good enough. And once you feel it for yourself deep down inside, you will naturally desire to pour this love upon all around you.
There was a day last year when I had a flu bug of some sort and was resting in bed. It was around breakfast time when my husband and oldest son left for the day. Shortly after my sweet second son tiptoed in to see where I was. I told him I was sorry I wasn’t feeling well and that I would come make him breakfast in a minute.
He left the room and pretty soon I heard dishes clanking and cupboards closing. I wondered what he was doing. I thought I heard the toaster and thought how responsible he had become in the last little while. I smiled to myself thinking he was making himself and his little sister breakfast without even being asked. Within just a few minutes, he was back in my room with a bowl in hand and a piece of toast he had made especially for me.
The toast was cold and made from the very small end of the loaf. It was burnt all along the bottom with a a cold chunk of butter in the very center and a rather large pile of sugar with a smidgeon of cinnamon.
And it was the most delicious toast I have ever eaten in my whole life. Because it was made by my son–from the perfect tenderness of his loving heart.
It doesn’t matter what you do. Just give. Let the love flow from your heart and watch it come soaring back a hundredfold…
