“Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”
Ephesians 5:2 TM
Now doesn’t that seem like a tall order? Love extravagantly. Give everything of yourself without expecting return. Is that even possible? Doesn’t God know how dangerous it is to open oneself up to others that way? You might as well hang a sign on your door saying “Everything inside is free!”
“Exactly,” Jesus says. You find your life when you give it away, but try to hold onto it with both hands? You have no hand open to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Does this condone irresponsibility? Perhaps. By the standards of this world. But in God’s economy, the more you give, the more you receive.
Because we have been forgiven, we also are to forgive. Because God has loved us, we also can and do love others. How we judge others is the measure by which we’ll be judged. Do you desire to be loved extravagantly? Lavished with mercy? Swamped by grace? Give out of what you have already received, and more will be poured into your life.
And don’t fuss over whether those you love are worthy or not, or deserve it or not. You didn’t. They don’t either. Yet God is far ahead of you in showing His great love and grace to them…and to you. Observe how Jesus loved you, and then love like that.
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