Love.

Tonight at Bible Study, we finished the video series for "Not A Fan." If you haven't heard of the book/series, go find a copy and read it. Well, only read it if you want your life to be changed and if you are willing to ask yourself some hard questions about your faith. In a nutshell, it talks about the difference between being a fan of Christ and  follower of Christ.

The difference between a fan and a follower is love.

Followers are willing to stop what they are doing, and immediately go do what Jesus calls them to do. They live out their faith through their actions of love. They don't just sit in a church on Sunday. They don't just pray out loud in front of people. James 2 mentions three times how faith without works is dead (verses 18, 20, and 26).

So I got to thinking, how do I love people? Do I always show love to people?

I try to love people by talking to them, serving them, etc. but I do it when I feel like it. When I'm in a bad mood or stressed out or something just isn't go my way, many times I fail at loving people.

I went onto Biblegateway.com and did a "Love" search. Here are some of the verses I found:

Leviticus 19:18

Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.

Matthew 5:43-44

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Matthew 22:39 and Mark 12:31

^"The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

 

Luke 6:31-36

^"Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

 

John 13:34

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.

 

John 13:35

"By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

Romans 13:10

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law."

1 Corinthians 16:14

"Your every action must be done with love."
 

There are many, many more verses, but I'll end there.

 

I noticed something interesting as I was reading through the verses. In the Old Testament, it says over and over how faithfully the Father loves us. The term "faithful love" appears so many times. But when Jesus died, He proved His love for us. In the New Testament when it talks about love, it starts saying about how we need to love Jesus, and how we need to love the people around us - our "neighbors," widows and orphans, our enemies.



Tonight when I was watching the DVD, I begged Jesus "Show me how to love people."

It's always scary when I ask Jesus to help me grow in something because I know He will do it in a big way. But as soon as I prayed that, a thought popped into my head.

"What if this entire summer is about teaching me how to love people?"

I'm working with people who have mental illnesses. I'm going on a missions trip to Alaska. I'm working at a camp for at-risk, abused, and neglect kids.

What if the whole point of this summer is Jesus teaching me how to love people I don't always feel like loving? To love people who are generally unloved? To love people even when I don't feel like it?

It's an incredibly humbling thought.

It's a terrifying thought.

But I want to live outside of my comfort zone.

And most of all, I want to be a follower. Not a fan.