Living In the Overflow of God's Love

I just finished Max Lucado's book called A Love Worth Giving - I wanted to share a few revelations from his book!

Max says when we try to love people with out knowing how much God loves us it is like writing a check without making a deposit. The whole book is based on what 1 Corinthians 13 says about love, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Each chapter takes a look at the different aspects of love.

Points I liked:
1. Love is Kind- Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light." Max makes the point that in ancient Israel Farmers trained young oxen by yoking them to older ones - so the older ones could carry the load. Jesus is saying in this verse, "Dawn, let me carry your load. We are yoked together." Max asks, "I wonder how many burdens is Jesus carrying for us that we know nothing about?" There have been times this last year when something bad has happened and I have asked God, "You know, this should be hurting a lot more." It was like God was holding back the tidal wave of pain and only allowing me to be sprinkled with the mist. He is my burden carrier.

2. Love is not proud - Talk about a Christmas gift; when Jesus was born, Max writes, "He humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in straw. From holding stars in his hand to clutching Mary's fingers. The palm that held the universe took a nail of a soldier. Why? Because that's what love does." Think about it...Christ who was there when the earth was formed reduced himself down to the size of a fertilized egg (invisible to the eye) only to wait in an unwed teenage mother's womb for 9 months for me and for you. "Amazing love how can it be,

that you my King would die for me.

Amazing love, I know that its true,

and its my joy to honor you in all I do."

3. Love is courteous - Jesus is a gentlemen! He tells you His name (Acts 2:38) and calls you by your name (John 10:3). Have you ever thought about it, Christ never barges in? He waits for you to invite him into your heart (Rev 3:20). When you pray Christ never interrupts you even though he knows everything you are going to say...even the things you don't say but think (Eph 3:20)

4. Love always protects - when Adam and Eve sinned they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, but it wasn't enough.

"The Lord made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them." Eph 3:21

Just soak that in for a moment, God made the clothes and DRESSED THEM. You know I never realized that this was the first blood sacrifice that atoned for sin. God had to kill an innocent animal - one of Adam's best friends; he was the one that named all the animals. God was not angry with Adam and Even; he saw they were in need of covering, and he made the clothes. Then when the clothes were finished he didn't through them at their feet and kick them out of the garden, he dressed them - WOW! Some people see God as angry and a judge because he threw them out of the garden, but I believe that was his first act of grace. You see in the garden the trees Adam and Eve ate from would allow them to live forever. When they sinned it separated them from God. If they continued to eat from the trees of life, God would have no way of bringing them back to him because they would live forever in our sinful world. God sent them out of the garden, I bet he had tears in his eyes, but
Love always protects.

I highly recommend this book! I so wish you and I could sit across the table from each other and discuss it in length.