GOD loves me, that’s all that matters.

1 John 4: ⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

============

Anticipation built up because this was my first evaluation on my new job. I had worked hard and got along with everyone, well, almost everyone. My boss was a blowhard and wanted everyone to fear him but that’s not my style. We sat and went through the year’s performance and I received a “moderately good” performance which was just above needing to improve.

“You’ve got to be kidding” I exclaimed! Rage filled my heart and everyone who ran into me that day knew not to cross me. On the way home I began to plot.  “How am I going to get around this jerk?” I thought to myself.  Right then a police pulled me over for speeding. “This is not my day!”

• If I’m not careful then circumstances can make me lose focus on loving people.
• If I’m not careful then the seed of hatred can blossom into anger, rage and fury.
• If I’m not careful then I can only see negative and miss the fact that GOD is in control.

We are placed on this earth for GOD’s pleasure not our own. “GOD is love” and HE wants me to share HIS love as much as I can during my short life. The problem is I run into “problems.” These problems, troubles and trials seem to frustrate me into fear, worry, doubt, anger, rage and other wild emotions. GOD wants me to control my emotions and focus on HIM.

• Loving people is a choice not a feeling.
• Loving people takes practice so I can begin by reducing my complaints.
• Loving people means I actually value the person’s existence just like GOD does.
• Loving people isn’t always easy so I ask GOD and HE widens my heart abundantly.

Only GOD can help me love the unlovable. There are mean, nasty, poisonous people who GOD adores and the tiniest act of love from me towards them makes HIM excited. GOD showed HIS love towards me in the middle of my sin, now I can do the same for others.

• Are you so focused on your circumstances that you haven’t shown “love” to others?
• Can you stop focusing on yourself for a minute and pray for others?
• Can you see “that” person the way GOD sees them, with forgiveness and mercy?
• If your heart is not filled with love right now, can you ask GOD to clear it and fill it with HIM?