Love: An Intense feeling of deep affection; a great interest of pleasure in something. A person or thing that one loves; to like very much, find pleasure in.
On the race the greatest thing that I have learned is to love.
Not the cheesy Valentines Day love, but a much greater love.. to love as God loves.
We are called to love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 give an account on just how important love really is..
Verse 1
” If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.“
Verse 3
“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
Verse 4-5
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs.”
We are called to love above everything else.
What is more beautiful and more captivating than God’s love?
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
{1 Corinthians 13:13}
Being on the race has made me see that Gods love truly knows no bounds… Love is a universal language, and there is no greater thing than to love people even when you feel as though you have nothing left.
But if I am honest…Its hard to love people, living in constant community is a testimony to that. It brings out those things that you stuff down and don’t want to deal with, it brings out your selfishness, your anger and your faults.
It shows us how bad we are at truly loving people through everything, meeting them where they are, loving them through their faults and their sins.
As I look back on the last 7 months of the race, love is the constant factor. Wether its loving a ministry, loving a certain teammate, or learning to love yourself.
True love comes from the Father, and it is because of that love that we even have the ability to love others!
“God so freely gives away His love to us, so we in turn can give it away to others.” {Judah Smith}
The more that we obsess or concentrate on Gods love for us, the more we want to love what He loves.
I know for me, if I am not concentrating on Him and His love for me I do not love others well, I see their faults not the way to love them through their faults.
I concentrate on the faults and mistakes in my life, not the fact that because God had SO much love for me He died on the cross to save me.
To love is a choice that we have to constantly choose.
Love is about sacrifice, and what is more beautiful than the Father giving up His only son for the sins of the world to be completely forgiven?
As I look forward to the last four months of my race I get excited about the people that I get to love, wether that be my team, ministry contacts, kids, girls on the streets, or even people back at home. I get excited to seek after the love that God has for me and to simply rest in the fact that I don’t have to earn it, I can simply just come to Him in surrender!
What is more beautiful and more captivating than God’s love?
love,
Hanna
