This morning in my Bible study, God gave me this quote that I couldn't shake off until I wrote it down, "We can never truly love others until we truly can see past ourselves." God is so amazing how He works 'cause shortly after I wrote that quote down, I ran across this scripture:
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus."Philippians 2:1-5
Is that confirmation that He was truly speaking to me, or what? As I read this scripture a flood of different emotions filled my spirit; joy, anger, sadness, confusion, happiness, thankfulness....all went through me at once. Why would I feel all of these emotions? I'lll share because maybe you can relate! I felt joy in the thought of being united with Christ and finding comfort in His love. Anger that sometimes when I need tenderness and compassion that it isn't given to me by others. Sadness that sometimes I, myself, do not value others above myself. Happiness and thankfulness at the thought that even though I fail in this every single day, God still beacons me to have the same mindset as He. He doesn't beacon me to this because He thinks I'm this great human being that has super powers but because He knows He designed me perfectly. He knows that in my heart of hearts, I have a heart that beats as His own and blood that flows through my veins as His.
So many times we get caught up in our own story, in our own feelings and in our own thoughts that we forget to love like Him. We forget that somebody is hurting, somebody is grieving, somebody is battling real battles that mean something to them. I'm learning this. I'm learning that my own story isn't all that's going on in the world. Somewhere somebody has just lost a parent or a sibling. Somewhere somebody's husband has committed adultery and has abandoned the family. Somewhere a child is hungry and sick with nobody to love them or care for them. There is hurt and tragedy all around us and all I know to do is to love without limits and love without boundaries because the world needs it! The world needs it now more than ever!
We have to learn to love without our own issues in the mix.....we have to love because God loves. We have to be intentional about seeing others the way God sees them. His love is so selfless and inspiring that I can't help but desire His heart. Today, I encourage you to love with a God heart!
