Looking for Love

The Bible teaches us in I John 4:8 that we are to show love to those we come into contact with on a daily basis. In fact, it says that if we don’t show love, then we can’t know who God is because God is love. I’m blessed in my life because I see that verse displayed on a daily basis. I never cease to be amazed by the outpouring of love I see from people around me through actions, words, emails, and many other ways. They serve as a constant reminder of how I am to respond to others because Christ is my Savior. 

We have three dogs, and each of these dogs has its own way of showing that it loves you. Duke will just come and lay on my lap when I’m sitting down and relaxing at the end of the day. He is content to just lay there because he wants to be with me. Lilly is the one you find ready to play if you show any inkling that you want some activity. She will chase down anything you throw, get in the pool, or just follow you wherever you go inside the house. Tula is the funny one because she gets in bed and wants to have contact while sleeping. I’m not into that contact stuff because it gets too hot, but if you move to get her off of you she will readjust to get close to you again. I’m really blessed because she likes that contact with Tami much more than with me! All three of these dogs love us and are so excited just to have us around. It doesn’t matter if we’ve had a rough day, if we forgot to put food in their bowls before going to work, or even if we scolded them for doing something they shouldn’t have done. The moment we call them or show an interest in them, they are right there by our sides because they want us to love on them.

That’s how we as the church are to react to each other and to the world. We should ask ourselves: What can I do today to show God’s love? That’s what we’re commanded to do as a part of His family. Who are the people that I can offer to help, send an encouraging word, or maybe forgive because they’ve hurt me? This is not the easy way; if we did it the easy way, we would walk away from relationships or look for ways to hurt those who have hurt us. Let’s not follow the way we’d do it, but let’s follow the pattern set by Christ.