Let Them Know: Love!

LET THEM KNOW… TRY UNDERSTANDING?

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

1 Kings 3:9 (ESV) Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

WHAT IS LOVE? MY OPINION LOVE CAN NOT BE DEFINED… ONLY ILLUSTRATED/DEMONSTRATED!

Jude 1:20 (ESV) But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

In 1968 I received my driver’s license. We lived in Springfield, Illinois. I got a job at THE FLAMING PIT, a steak house. I was driving to work when a beautiful white poodle ran out in front of me. I tried to miss it. It broke my heart, I hit the dog. I knew it was someone’s pet. But there were many houses around. I parked my car and got the dog in my lap. I held it and cried. I knew the dog was dying. So I held the dog and petted it. The dog tried to bite me. In it’s brokenness the dog thought I was hurting it. The dog growled and then tried to bite. I UNDERSTOOD IT WAS NOT A BAD DOG, THE DOG WAS IN PAIN AND THOUGHT I WAS HURTING IT. The attacks were not personal, the attacks was pain.

IN THE 50 PLUS YEARS SINCE THAT EXPERIENCE I HAVE OFTEN SEEN PEOPLE STRIKE OUT IN PAIN, HURT AND DISAPPOINTMENT BECAUSE THEY FELT THE NEED TO STRIKE BACK. OF THE PERSON THEY ARE MEAN OR CRUEL TO HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SITUATION.

We lash out at whoever is there. They don’t understand. We don’t understand. So the problems ESCALATE. We react to the situation instead of ACT BY FAITH.

1 John 4:7 (ESV) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

WE TEND TO WEAR MASK TO HIDE OUR PAIN AND HURT.

One of my basic theories of life is HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE. This can be a deep seated problem that appears on the surface as unhappiness.

TODAY MANY PEOPLE FEEL THEY ARE UNHAPPY. THIS ATTITUDE OF UNHAPPINESS WILL EXPRESS ITSELF IN MEAN WORDS AND BEHAVIOR THAT IS NOT HEALTHY.

It is easy to fall into relationship traps that are not easily identified. There are red flags we need to be aware of…

AT FIRST DIFFERENCES ATTRACT… WHEN WE MOVE INTO A NEW PHASE WHAT WAS CUTE, BECOMES VERY ANNOYING TO THE POINT THEY BECOME IRRITATING HOW SOON IS THE HONEYMOON PERIOD SHIFT FORGETTING TO BE KIND AND GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS GO DOWN THE DRAIN.

SELF-DOUBT WILL CAUSE US TO ATTRACT OTHERS. LIFE HAS A TENDENCY OF LOSING OUR CONFIDENCE AND OUR SECURITY FALTERS.