For The Love Of God

Why do you live the life that you do?

Was education and a good job a priority in your family? Was a certain type home, a vacation home, car or other material things important in your family? Are you determined not live like your parents or grandparents did? How did you come to the way that you treat people? Were you wounded in life and you determined never to feel that way again? Did you feel abandoned or neglected in life and now you refuse to allow people to get close, so you can be certain never to feel that way again? There are a lot of factors that lead us to the live the way we do. Family, faith, feelings and our genetic makeup all have an impact into how we view our world and how we live.

But 'for the love of God’ let us live differently. I see within my own life deficiencies that cause me to think, feel and act the way that I do. These influences in my life cannot, however, be the driving force of my interactions with the world. What should drive my life, my daily interaction with people and the world around me? The love of God! Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrated His love toward us, in while we were still sinners, Christ Died for us.” God did this not only to draw us unto Himself but as an example of how we, as a child of God, should live. There are so many examples that Jesus demonstrates how to live. John 8, the woman caught in adultery. In Luke 7, Jesus is accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners. In John 7 Jesus eats with Simon the Pharisee and confronts him about his heart toward broken people and then extends grace to a hurting woman at his feet. We all have natural ways that we want to live, interact with our world and treat other people, but as a child of God we are not held captive to what comes natural. It is because I have experienced the love of God that I extend it to others. I would love to say I did this perfectly, but I don’t. I will tell you that when my flesh rises up and I want to respond in a natural way, my spirit says, “for the love of God” act differently. For the love of God forgive. For the love of God extend grace. For the love of God be patient. For the love of God offer a helping hand. So, I challenge you to live “For the Love of God."