Love.

Does anyone else find the call to love so simple and yet so daunting? I find myself constantly struggling with its overwhelming simplicity and difficulty. When I call out to God asking what He requires of me it's as though I expect some new specific task that He will lay before me, but the answer remains the same: love. He requires me to love. To love Him above all else and to love others as He loves me. To love without regard for myself.

1 Corinthians 13:2 says:

"If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing."

It is as simple as that, and yet why so difficult? When God's answer comes back the same as before, always gently reminding me to love, I don't know why I always feel overwhelmed. What does it mean to love? Well, I know it sounds silly but that is just how I feel, over and over again. But thank the Lord, He has laid it out for us. Throughout His Word we read of His love and see examples of love. But it is never written out as clearly as it is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Here love is defined.

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." 

So I read this again this morning and I searched for something I already knew, and though, wow! I am not always loving the way I should. But I am thankful for Christ's spirit within me giving me the grace and guidance I need to be a bit more like Him today. 

God is good. Love is... Simple?? Ha. I hope you all have a wonderful day and know that even if you struggle to love completely, as I know I do quite often, God loves you completely every moment of every day. His love is perfect and His grace is sufficient for us. 

With love.