Draw Me Close with Love

How may of us resolved to eat healthier this year?

Workout more?

Go on more trips?

Yet how many of us have resolved to work harder at loving our enemies?

To put love first instead of hate towards those that we feel have wronged us?

To look at another and pray for hope instead of retaliation?

As I continue to work through the New Testament, time and time again, I keep coming across verses that call out the message of acting out in love because God first loved us. Verses that echo that as children of God, he dwells in us so our actions should be of righteousness, not malice or hate for those are works of the enemy.

This is probably the most faith-forward blog I have written. Usually I try to casually weave in a verse or a faith-based idea. As I dig deeper into the Word, ruminating and praying on the words God has left us, I can't help but to cast aside fear of being ignored or mocked for sharing the gospel.

For those that read on, thank you.

For those that have rebuffed this post, I pray that you come to know the Lord's love.

Because that's what it all comes down to.

LOVE.

Who am I, who are we, if our purpose is to only put ourselves first, to achieve the perishable wealth of the world for our own gain, and to claim to walk in the ways of the Lord but turn away from our brothers and sisters?

1 John 3:11- 11"For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." ESV

1 John 3:17- 17 "But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" ESV

When I read these verses, it sounds so simple.

Just love.

Just help one other.

But what if that person has caused you pain, a hurt so deep the wounds are raw. A wrong committed against you so heinous that it brings waves of anger and thoughts of retaliation.

I have had those wounds.

I have ridden those waves.

I have drowned in the rabbit holes of imagining how it would all play out if those people were served their comeuppance.

Living in those feelings and thinking those thoughts didn't bring justice, they didn't bring peace.

They brought turmoil, took me further away from the Lord. What they did was they drew me closer to the enemy, lured in by the whisperings to just lash out and all would be well. That my pain and anger were justified.

What a crock of crap that was.

The enemy is good at wrapping up those lies like a delicious chocolate hand pie but when you bite in, it's rotten and repulsive.

The Word of God is where we all need to turn to, drinking in the goodness like refreshing water, filling us with the love that he has for us, forgiving our sins, redeeming our hearts with grace.

With his promise, we can turn to others in love, forgiving the wrongs, praying for redemption, practicing grace.

This year, my resolution is to commit knowing the Word to dwell in a place of love, to make sure that my actions towards all brothers and sisters, regardless of past hurts, judgements, wrongdoings, or failures, are all covered in love.

For who am I to claim to walk in the ways of the Lord if I do not put love first.

1 John 3:18- 18 "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed or truth." ESV