What does a Christ-like love mean to you? How about God’s love for you?

What do you think love looked like through Christ’s eyes as He hung on the cross?

God's love is unconditional. God’s love is different from the love of chocolate or brotherly love. His love is different from human love that we experience with one another because it is not based on feelings. God doesn't love us because we please Him. He loves us simply because He is love.

Billy Graham wrote, “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”

And when someone cares, he or she will protect and provide for that person. God loves you, God is love, and He also is proactive in that love . . . He cares about you.

“My little children, don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life and live in the pattern of gracious love.”
~ 1 John 3:18 (The Voice)

God’s love and care work together in a continuous connected flow. God lives His love toward you because He cares about you as His child; God bestows care and concern for you because He loves you.

Talk with God . . .

PAUSE . . . close your eyes and ask God to show you someone in your life who represents “love” to you, the “caring about you” love that God exemplifies.

Is it who you expected?

Is it someone you have lost touch with, or just need to say “hello” to?

Is it someone you need to contact to apologize to, to talk to, to let know that you haven’t forgotten him or her? . . . Or to pray for?

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” ~ Zephaniah 3:17

Rethink & Consider . . .

There are three kinds of Greek “love” that are used most in Scripture . . . Eros—romantic, passionate love, including lust—the kind of passionate love you have for someone, or chocolate . . . Philia—affectionate love of friendship—the kind of love you would have for a close friend or brother
. . . And Agape—selfless love or God’s unconditional love—the kind of love that is bigger than yourself, boundless, compassionate, and empathetic, extended to everyone.

You can tell what a person “loves” by what one devotes oneself to most. What a person values most is reflected in actions and motivations.

Look at yourself—What do you “love” most? What kind of love do you reflect? What kind of love do you want others to see in you?

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”
~ 1 John 3:16

It is very hard to love as Christ loves when you try to hide things from Him. Sins, particularly unrepented sins, create a fog over your relationship with God. If we say we have no sins, we deceive ourselves. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and will forgive our sins.

Don’t be afraid to talk to God. He knows what you need because He loves you. Tell Him and allow God to give you peace.

God’s peace is a balm to the hurting soul . . . His love gives cool, soothing relief from the pain inside and out.

Imagine . . .

Imagine your hands cupped around a single tapered candle slowly burning in the dim light. Focus closely on the flickering flame, the bright light it gives off, the warmth radiating beyond the light. As you watch the wick burn and the wax melt, close out everything around you and listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit. But go further than that . . . hear the whispers.

Listening is the first step, but hearing goes deeper, into the heart and soul. Be willing to turn off the racket, clamor, and commotion of the world and tune into God . . . so that you can actually hear Him.

Don’t ignore the call or need of quiet stillness. It is an integral part of a any relationship, to listen and hear. It is especially easier to listen and hear God, through the Holy Spirit, in the quiet stillness.

Sometimes what you will hear is leading you to where you need to make changes . . . other times it is affirmation that you are on the right path.

What are you “hearing” in your heart? You may not always hear spoken words, but God speaks in many, many ways . . . through the wind and water, music and song, Scripture and poetry, other people . . . God’s love for you is everywhere.

God loves you, so He cares: God cares about you, so He gives His love.

Reflect & Pray . . .

Think about this . . . Remember to care because you are not alone on this earth, you are not on a deserted island, or standing on a pedestal . . . look around you at the faces and lives you are affecting, and those that are affecting you.

Are you passing them by? . . . ignoring them, not caring about their feelings, sadness, their fears?

Do you care, but are not quite sure how to show it?

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him 
because he cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7

It is important to care even if you are sad, tired, overwhelmed, busy, self-absorbed, depressed, down, unhappy, feeling unloved . . . Remember to care, remember to love as God loves, as Christ loved you . . . slow down and care . . . or you may be the next one ignored, hurt, or passed by . . . because someone else forgot to care.

Prayerfully ask God . . .  To love and care for you, and to show you how, and to whom, you can show God’s love and care for others.

Look Ahead/In the Moment/Today/Tomorrow . . .

St. Augustine wrote, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”

Norman Vincent Peale advises, “God loves you. He wants you to succeed. He wants the best for you.”

Each of these are present tense, today, now . . . God loves you, no matter your bumps, stumbles, or mistakes . . . large or small . . . or even medium-sized. Hold tight to that love; hold tight to your relationship with God.

Hold onto this image . . .
As you move into the next moment, the next day, and beyond . . .  Draw a figure “8” and turn it on its side . . . It becomes
an “∞”, the infinity sign . . . Infinity is a mathematical symbol used for describing something endless, larger than any number, the idea that is infinite or limitless. God is even more infinite and limitless, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

You can always draw an infinity sign on paper, in the sand, in your mind
. . . to represent God’s love and care . . . to remind you He is always with you, to focus on and hold onto.

“Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
~ Romans 8:39

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A Focus for Walking the Labyrinth . . .

Remember . . .  Have an open mind and open heart as you walk in prayer.

That is easier said than done sometimes. If other things cloud your mind
. . . chores to do, groceries to buy, bills to pay . . . jot them down on a piece of paper to deal with later—after your “walk.” Give God His undivided time, however long or short it can be today. You can “pick the list back up” after God time.

BELIEVE IN GOD ~ FOLLOW CHRIST ~ LISTEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT