Making Love...Last (7)
Intro: this is Part 7 of 7 contributions i'm supplying to what i like to call the Kem Meyer Bible Study Sensation. Our church (Granger Community Church, Indiana) is currently working through a series about love, and we've been challenged with reading Philippians 2:1-15 each day for the next week. I'm wrapping up with afterthoughts. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.
When my definition of love comes from a world view rather than God's view, I will always have a hard time loving others.
God loves me more than i love myself, but i sometimes love myself more than i love God. That's just not fair.
God is love. There is only one God, so there is only one way to love. If humility of heart leads me to true love, then selfish ambition leads to false gods.
i'm a whiny, self-absorbed, ambitious, suffocatingly arrogant natural sinner; i really need God's love.
Love takes work. God works in us out of love so we can work on loving others more than ourselves.
Philippians 2:1-15, in a nutshell:
1 If Christ makes you feel this way,
2 then return the favor and be one.
3 Give yourselves freely, humbled and undone.
4 Look out for each other,
5 as Christ looks out for you,
6 he who left the throne of heaven
7 to be a man, a servant, just like you.
8 Jesus loved obediently to the death.
9 What else could God do but honor him,
10 not one can resist his name,
11 he is worthy of such praise.
12 Obey and be on guard, children,
13 for Emmanuel resides in your heart.
14 Think peace and joy, not discord,
15 so your actions shine in the dark.
When my definition of love comes from a world view rather than God's view, I will always have a hard time loving others.
God loves me more than i love myself, but i sometimes love myself more than i love God. That's just not fair.
God is love. There is only one God, so there is only one way to love. If humility of heart leads me to true love, then selfish ambition leads to false gods.
i'm a whiny, self-absorbed, ambitious, suffocatingly arrogant natural sinner; i really need God's love.
Love takes work. God works in us out of love so we can work on loving others more than ourselves.
Philippians 2:1-15, in a nutshell:
1 If Christ makes you feel this way,
2 then return the favor and be one.
3 Give yourselves freely, humbled and undone.
4 Look out for each other,
5 as Christ looks out for you,
6 he who left the throne of heaven
7 to be a man, a servant, just like you.
8 Jesus loved obediently to the death.
9 What else could God do but honor him,
10 not one can resist his name,
11 he is worthy of such praise.
12 Obey and be on guard, children,
13 for Emmanuel resides in your heart.
14 Think peace and joy, not discord,
15 so your actions shine in the dark.
