Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born out of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way;  God sent His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him.    1 John 4:7-9 HCSB

When I met my husband, I didn’t really know him. I couldn’t say I loved him even a year or so after we met because I would only see him in passing. My husband is what you might call rough around the edges, but as we got to know each other I saw a completely different side of him. I saw that he was loving and kind. He is protective and I know there is nothing he won’t do for me. Once I got to really know him, I couldn’t help but love him.

Years ago a young former beauty queen turned police officer came to work in our office. She was very quiet. I didn’t know if this was because she was a snob or she was shy. After a few weeks of working with her, I decided to ask. She explained that she liked to get to know people before she struck up any kind of relationship with them. She had actually been quietly sitting back and getting to know the people in our office and how they operated before deciding which ones would merely be co-workers and which ones would be friends. I am happy to say that she and I became good friends and grew to love each other like sisters.

So, as you can see, I’m not talking about the love here that we have for something like chocolate. I’m talking about that kind of love that would cause us to do whatever we could to help the other person out. I’m talking about the kind of love where you enjoy spending time with the other person. I’m talking about the kind of love that develops over time when you really take time to get to know someone. I’m talking about the kind of love that lasts through the ups and downs. This is the kind of love where you want to do your best to please that person and you never want to disappoint them.

I want you to think about your relationship with Jesus. Do you love Him? Now before you say yes, I want you to think about a few things. How much time do you spend with Him? How high a priority is he on your to-do list? Do you regularly go to His house to praise and worship Him? Do you treat others in a way that pleases Him (Ephesians 4:29-30)?

In order to love our Lord and Savior, we have to know Him. When we take time to really, deeply get to know Him, we can’t help but love Him. When we love Him, we become love because He is love. Through my relationship with my husband and my dear friend, I see traits in them that I admire and even though in ways we are opposites, I try to imitate these traits that I know I lack. When my husband pursues something he gains a knowledge about it. When he engages in conversation on a topic, he has studied this topic and knows what he’s talking about it. He is also extremely quick witted. My friend is incredibly organized and does a great job of managing many tasks at one time. Both are really smart and seem to be able to pull this knowledge out whenever needed. I admire these traits in them and try to imitate or duplicate them when I can. We are told in Ephesians 5:1 that we are to imitate Christ. We are to love others as He loves us.

My friend if you are not in a good, solid relationship with Jesus Christ, you just don’t know what you are missing. I hate to think about all the wasted years of my life that I wasn’t striving to get closer to my Lord. Don’t waste any more time. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). As you get to know Him, you will find you have a deeper love for Him each day and you will want to do your best to please Him. You will also find that you will strive to love others with the love He gives to you. We strive to please Him because we never want to disappoint those we love, right?

Have a great day!