THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

The second “I”
The second “I” after integrity is intimacy. Don’t you love, love? Even as I type this my grammar check tells me that you can’t love love – you can’t really, really, really like love, but I think most people do. Most people love being in love, love getting to love others, love being loved on – we are created by God, who is love, with unlimited capacity to love, therefore we love, love.
But love is also difficult. It means being vulnerable. It means being open. It means trusting. It means changing (for the better). It means thinking of someone else first.
Without loving others though, I will miss an opportunity to influence them. Without loving God, I will miss my opportunity to influence others to love God.
If I say I follow God, yet don’t act loving to others, who would ever want to follow God because of me? I would actually become their reason to NOT follow God. So, I will still have influence in the lives of others, but not the influence I want to have.
Without loving God, it will be impossible to influence others to love God.
In John 15, Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” He showed us the greatest example of love. It was hard, it hurt, it led Him to the Cross, but that’s what love does. Without having intimacy with God, we will lack love, and when we lack love, we lack the ability to know God and to show others around us how good it is to be with God. Stop and think of the depth of intimacy you have with God now, and the way that could help or hinder your influence for Christ in the lives of others.

Pastor Steve