Love part 3.

So far we have spoken about love in general and the love God has for us. The real questions are, how does it apply to us, and, what do we do next.
First off, we need to except Gods love, and realize there is nothing we can do to earn it. It is important for us to understand Gods nature. Love isn’t an emotion for God, God is love. It is what makes God, God. So what do we do next?
The commandment says it, love your neighbor. Let me share a story for you from the book I’m currently reading, Soul Cravings. It is by Erwin McManus. I’m going to paraphrase is to shorten is up for you.

“ One day I looked out my window to find a pair of ducks outside in my yard. I thought nothing of it at first, until not long after they had laid a nest full of eggs. To our surprise, we woke up one day to nearly a dozen baby ducks. Once they were born the father flew the coop. Leaving the mother to fend for the little guys. My kids were thrilled so we decided to keep them.
Little did we know that we were about to enter into our own personal nightmare. One by one we watched the little ducklings being hunted and eliminated. From cats to skunks to crows, our backyard was open for duck season. We did everything we could to save their lives. One night I had the misfortune to witness a crow swoop down and take one of the ducklings. The mother pursued to no avail. It was truly more than I could bear. I soon found myself having nightmares. All I could think about was the remaining ducklings.
After waking up one night from a panic attack, God revealed something to me. It was almost as if I heard him speak it. “Do you know how you feel about that duckling? The anguish your feeling at this very moment, that’s how I feel about every human being who walks the face of this earth. If you could just care about people the way you are caring about these ducks, it would make you a different person. You would know the heart of God.”
I share this story with you because the world is full of all sorts of predators who are out there to hurt and take advantage of helpless people. Verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse, people are prey. Murders happen everyday. Lying, cheating and stealing happens in everyone’s lives. What do we do? We contribute to it. We lie as well. We steal. And we cheat. We take advantage of others. We abuse others. We are no better than a crow who preys on a helpless duckling.
It is time for us, to start loving. Loving like God loves us. To start caring for others the way God cares for everyone who walks the earth. It doesn’t matter their race, culture, habits, and even religion. My friends there is only so much time we have here. All around us there are people who are helpless. There are people who are hurting. It is time we as Christians, stand up, and do what we are called to do. Be an example of Christ.
Readers, it is time to love.