Happy September 22nd! Yet, another hiatus, but I hope you guys love me enough to stay with me (*hug*)!
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon Downtown Brooklyn as I was strolling to one of my favorite Thai places for a “me-time” lunch and I remember my older sister asking me over the phone “How do you show people you love them?.”
I honestly had no idea how to answer that because I never deeply thought about it.
As a younger child, “I love you” was told to me, it was shown to me by action and certainly I said “I love” a lot of things including family, friends, food and candy (lol). You know, the surface definition. This word love is constantly thrown around so much that it’s meaning becomes so diluted, meaningless and can be said without knowing and having an intimate relationship with that specific thing or person. Honestly, it wasn’t until I discovered Christ love for me that I realized what the definition of real love was.
If you watched my YouTube video “#FAITH I My Walk With GOD” you would know that I initially struggled with realizing God’s love. I don’t know if you can relate, but being new in your “Christian Walk”,it usually takes that one special intimate experience where God proved to YOU that he cares. He proved to me that he truly loves me and I can now say his love never fails! Even when I fail him, he proves to me that he cares.
For example, after I’ve gotten saved, I threw myself in a relationship. Once again, I found myself in a position that I was longing to fill that empty void. This person served a different God (he was Muslim), but I was convinced that he will be converted. He never took me out on a date, but was convinced that it would get better. I wanted to stay in that relationship! I had that plan, but God laughed and had another.
I was not at peace in that relationship.
God used people to speak to me during that time about unequally yoked relationships, my Pastor specifically gave a sermon on that topic specifically one Sunday, and friends told me “Emari, you need to get out of that.”. I had ZERO peace. *Side note*- God truly uses ANYTHING/ANYONE. He does give signs, indeed!
One day I finally ended it and it felt like a whole weight was lifted. If that’s not love, I don’t know what to call it! Patience was shown. Protection was shown. Most importantly, after I ended it, he kept no record of my wrongs. Although God has shown me love, I often find myself receiving it rather than giving it.
Looking at the verse 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Looking at this verse, I was always taught to replace the word love and replace it with your name. Do you exemplify these things? I was extremely convicted recently about this
I want to challenge us all to self-examine ourselves. Are we truly loving people? Sometimes, receiving it can be easier than giving it. I will be keeping a journal of at least one thing I do to serve another person a day. It’s always good to take the focus off of us sometimes
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19