Have you ever been in love? Like in Love, LOVE? Have you ever been in love with someone who didn't love you back...someone who you professed your love to, but they didn't feel the same way about you? You bend over backwards, jump through hoops and bounds, and drop everything you have going on just for that person if they need you for the simplest thing, all to prove how much you love them. You make a vow to yourself that if they just love you back like you love them, you'll make them see that it's the best decision they have ever made.
Who doesn't want a love like that? A love that matches....a love that's cohesive? True Love. Everyone wants it; everyone needs it and thankfully, we've already gotten it. Sometimes we're just too blind to see it.
The best decision I ever made was letting Christ love me and learning how to love Him back. I was blind but now I see, seriously! We can hope and pray for something that has been there all the time. So many times I've settled for pseudo love, not knowing what kind of love I was worthy of receiving. He showed me and continues to show me my worth. He holds me, comforts me, covers me, keeps me, goes to war for me and He does so much more. He prepares me for my earthly love so I'll know that his has to reflect HIS love for me and He makes sure that HIS love is reflected from me to him.
Jesus loves us. He's our True Love. His love fought for and continues to fight for us. Do you know what it's like to fight for someone knowing that the person may reject you? If I can be brutally honest, I'm entirely too chicken to fight for something when I know there's a possibility that I may not have it for myself. I think it's more of a pride issue for me, so I use the phrase that most people do, "I'm a lover not a fighter." But in most cases of love involves fighting period. Not physical fighting but fight against obstacles, selfish desires, and other things that may harm your relationship. Things aren't always peachy and happy go lucky in our earthly relationships so we have to fight to keep our relationships together. I'm so glad that Jesus is the lover of my soul that keeps fighting for me. I wouldn't believe someone loves me if they wouldn't fight for me...and I wouldn't be in love for real if I didn't fight for the one I love.
As Christians, we are persecuted for believing not just in God, but in Jesus. Just as he fights for us, we have to fight for Him. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and when we mess up, He's there pleading on our behalf (Roman 8:34). Do you know what it is to have an Advocate 24/7?? A REAL Fighter? He's the real "Ride or Die", not so much in the sense but when you call someone that, it means they have your back through thick and thin until the end. Christ didn't even need all that. He doesn't just have our back, He has us as a whole from the inside out. He died for us before we even went through and continues to ride for us while we're going through, even when we don't ride for Him. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13 NLT) We have to fight through our fleshly desires, our selfish ambition, and our pride because His love is greater than all of that stuff. It's because of Him that we aren't defeated, it's only because of Him that we have the victory even before the trial, but to test the strength of love, we have to fight with Him right there strengthening us. Even though we're fighting for Him we don't have to fight without Him. Love doesn't get any truer than that...
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:9-17 NLT)
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