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Love is an indefinite thing to most of us; we don’t know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the loftiest preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that this sovereign preference be for Himself (see Luke 14:26 ). Initially, when “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” ( Romans 5:5 ), it is easy to put Jesus first. But then we must practice the things mentioned in 2 Peter 1 to see them worked out in our lives.

The first thing God does is forcibly remove any insincerity, pride, and vanity from my life. And the Holy Spirit reveals to me that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now He commands me to show the same love to others by saying, “. . . love one another as I have loved you” ( John 15:12 ). He is saying, “I will bring a number of people around you whom you cannot respect, but you must exhibit My love to them, just as I have exhibited it to you.” This kind of love is not a patronizing love for the unlovable— it is His love, and it will not be evidenced in us overnight. Some of us may have tried to force it, but we were soon tired and frustrated.

I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out through Me? Neither natural love nor God’s divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.

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A Journal Excerpt for today’s devotional…..

May 11, 2010

Yesterday I took steps, one at a time toward the tasks I have put off because of fear and uncertainty. I learned that one step opened up the way for the next and then the next and the task was after all not so daunting.

And God says…This is one of the great mysteries of the age; I have given you the courage and strength and peace from the love of a sacrifice so great that it covers all fear and anxiety. And yet you continue to go there time after time after time. The relationship and the intimacy we both want can only come from trust and faith. One step outside your comfort zone into faith opens up a whole new opportunity for me to work in your life. If you stay inside your comfort zones you have said, “This is alright, I am fine right where I am….and then I cannot work in your life”. But when you step out in faith I can act on your behalf.”

It is the same when loving others. When you step out on their behalf, trusting me to be your source and the source for the other, I can act. My love can flow through you when you are reaching out to others. When you do not reach out to and for others, my love cannot flow through you. It can flow to you but not through you. Love that flows through you is a stream constantly flowing. Love that stops with you and does not flow to others does not flow at all.

And so I wonder about love that stops with me. Does that mean that when it stops with me and I am trying to get connected and stay intimate with God because I want to “feel better” or “feel connected” that I cannot? Does this mean that real intimacy means I must be reaching out to others at all times? Does this mean that I cannot be truly connected unless I am loving others with the love that flows through me?

And God says.”Yes, that is exactly what it means. The second commandment Love you neighbor as yourself” is one of only two given you by Jesus. It is almost as important and the first, however the first commandment truly comes alive and you become connected only when you are also operating in the second. If you want to be truly connected, love your brother