Love More Not Less

 

This is the message I've heard twice now in my worship time.  I am not completely sure what area of my life the holy spirit is referring to, but the message has been clear.  Love more not less.  I suppose when a context is not give it means in all things.  It is kind of like when Jesus told the parable of the good neighbor also known as the good Samaritan.  When a man asked Jesus concerning loving our neighbor as ourselves "who is my neighbor?"  Jesus responded with this story and then simply told the man to be like the good Samaritan.  I suppose Jesus was answering the more appropriate question.  "How do I become a good neighbor?"  So I guess my question to God is "how do I love when I am hurt?" The Lord has called us all to love more and not less, but situations challenge our resolve in this matter.This is especially true in situations where we are hurt.  Broken relationships tempt me to withdraw from people who could be a bad investment of my love, but God says to love anyway.  I know when I have loved someone because I not only get to know them, but I allow them to know me.  For me, entering into someone else's world is easy, but letting people into my world is difficult.  For me love is trusting people with myself.  I don't do that easily and therefore I must conclude that I haven't loved very much at all.  There are many people in my life who know my mind, but I doubt that they know my heart.  So to answer my own question, I think the Lord is asking me to let more people know my heart.  I have to let more people into my world.  I suppose the reason we should share our worlds is because we see God more clearly through more examples of his work.  We are his workmanship and therefore we were created to be revealed.  We pl.ace ourselves on display so that God can be glorified.  It is our love for others that allows them to see us.  We sacrifice our pride to allow them to see our brokenness and our salvation. What's really ridiculous is that we have to come to grips with the fact that God sees us.  We try to hide things from God as if he can't see us.  It is when we stop trying to hide  from God that we know that we have loved him. Thank the Lord for his love for me. He shows himself willingly, and I get revelation of him as I am ready for it.  God has not hidden himself from us.  He has revealed himself, but only those of us with the right perspective can see him.  I may find this to also be true as I find ways to show myself. I guess since we were all made in the image of God we are all artists like him. Our stories and our crafts reveal us to the world. We are known by what we create in the most honest moments of ourselves.  We will never fully know or fully be known until we reach eternity, but we can catch shadows and create glimpses of the glory of God in our existence.   Love more, not less.  

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