The whole worth of a kind deed is in the love that inspires it.

-The Talmud

Every time we feel tempted to find security in our finances or our belongings, we must fight the temptation.  God brought us into the world naked, and He loves us whether we wear rags or designer clothes.  God loves us, rich or poor.

 

Unless we genuinely love each other, unless we truly care for each other, unless we are living in harmony, the world will not believe.

Everybody wants the real deal.  And when you show the real deal--the purity of love--it is hard to resist.  There is no moving toward God without love.  If we who bear His name do not love, Jesus tells us the world will dismiss Him.

 

Can you imagine the outcome if a parent honored each request of each child during a trip?  We'd inch our bloated bellies from once ice-cream store to the next. . . .

Can you imagine the chaos if God indulged each of ours?

 

Love is a fruit.  A fruit of whom? Of your hard work?  Of your deep faith? Of your rigorous resolve?  No.  Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God.  "The Spirit produces the fruit" (Gal. 5:22, NCV).

 

Real love doesn't abandon. . . . Lovers might.  Friends might.  Children might.  But God doesn't.

Whether we return the embrace or not, Jesus Christ stands with His arms open, day in and day out.  Real love knows us completely and forgives us completely.  Real love never turns away, ever.

 

Does God love us because of our goodness?  Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, He loves us because of His goodness, kindness, and great faith.  John says it like this:  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us."

 

The bonds that unite families and friends are not forged for a little while, they are for eternity.  They stretch across every boundary of space and time.  They twine and intertwine from one generation to another, weave and interweave, priceless beyond measure.  They are something to be cherished, to be fought for, to be kept intact at all cost.

 

The great freedom Jesus gives us is to be ourselves, defined by His love and our inner qualities and gifts rather than by any kind of show we put on for the world.  We are freed, like uncaged birds, because God loves us unconditionally--without degrees, promotions, elected offices, or a cool crowd surrounding us.