Part I

When we talk about being transformed, we’re talking about something very strong. It’s not a word to throw around because it means a real change in our nature or character or appearance.  It signifies a turning point, something permanent, not temporary.  So, what would you identify as the transformational points in your life?  What person or situation or event has made a truly significant difference in your life—for the better?

If you think carefully about it, my guess is that the transformational points in your life came as a result of love. Love has the power to transform us.

For example, getting to know Jesus and accepting his gift of salvation certainly transforms our nature, doesn’t it? The Bible says that we become new creations in Christ; the new has come, the old has gone.  The love of God transforms us like no other love ever could.

No wonder John 3:16 is the favorite verse in the Bible for many people. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It’s because of that incredible love that we can have eternal life.  I love the old hymn that begins “Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know.”  And then ends by declaring, “In a love that will not cease, I am his and he is mine.”

Knowing I am the one Jesus loves has transformed me, how about you? I simply can’t get through that hymn without tears of joy just knowing how God—the God of the entire universe—loves me. Love is transformational.  There’s no doubt about it.

Have you been transformed by the power of the love of Jesus? Have you accepted his free gift of salvation by confessing your sins and believing that he is the Son of God who paid the price for your sin, because he loves you?  If not, there is no doubt an empty space inside of you that is love-starved for Jesus, and I would urge you even today to simply confess your sins to him and accept the love he offers.

It is God’s love for us that transforms us, and then, it is our privilege and responsibility to share that love with others. Romans 5:5 tells us that God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  When we are born into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and he simply pours God’s love into our hearts.

Then, when we have received God’s unconditional love, we are admonished throughout Scripture to love as we have been loved by God.

John 13:34-35: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 12:10: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Matthew 22:37 – 39: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Is there someone in your life right now who is trouble for you? Could be a co-worker or a boss, a child or a mate, a friend or foe.  You know what they need?  Love.  I know—they’re probably not very lovable, but that doesn’t change the fact that they need love!  What could you do today to show love to that person—undeserved, unconditional love?  Maybe it’s a phone call or a note or a gift or a listening ear.  Maybe it’s a lack of criticism and condemnation, a willingness to love them as they are, in their unlovable condition.

But here’s the roadblock that we often encounter: How can you love someone when you don’t feel it?  How can you show love when someone isn’t loving you back; when they are not lovable; when they may not deserve your love?  This is where God’s love in us has to kick in, and the good news is, love—God’s kind of love—is expressed in actions, not necessarily in feelings.

In 1 Corinthians 13 we have the definitive description of how you love someone, whether you feel it or not. We are given specific actions and behavior that we can choose to exhibit whether or not we feel them.  Consider these love actions:

  • Love is patient and kind. Does patience come easy for you? It doesn’t for me; but when you and I choose to be patient with someone, we are showing love. And when we are kind to someone who is not kind to us, we are loving them. You do it by choice, not by feelings, but you do it—and it is credited to you as love!
  • Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. Well, that’s pretty practical and down-to-earth, isn’t it? For example, if you hear that your friend just got a raise or a great new job or a new house or got married, and you choose to rejoice with them instead of envying them, you have chosen to love them. If you intentionally refrain from boasting about yourself or your accomplishments, you are loving others. If you are not rude to that person who just cut in line in front of you, even though you want to say something, you have chosen the path of love.
  • Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. This pretty much eliminates gossip, doesn’t it? A loving person simply does not get any joy in passing along bad news about other people, but instead assumes the best instead of the worse and is never part of gossip or malicious talk.
  • Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love simply hangs in there with people, never giving up, always hoping for the best, listening when you don’t want to listen anymore, believing that God can turn any person, any situation around.

I encourage you—indeed, I challenge you to read 1 Corinthians 13 every day for a month. Just begin each day reading this incredible definition of what true love is—what you can do every day to be a lover of people. It would take you maybe five minutes to read it, and you’d pretty much have it memorized after thirty days, and it will transform your thinking. Learning to see love as actions, not feelings, will make a huge difference in you, and it will transform the way you see others, which will in turn transform the way you treat others, which may well transform the way they respond and react to you. It could start a “trickle-down effect” that will astonish you.

Don’t you agree that we often get so busy in our day-to-day lives that we forget to stop and express love? Frankly, we’re always ready to receive love but not always prepared to give it. I find that I have to become intentional about expressing love—I have to remember to do it. I often take for granted the love I receive from others—my family and friends—without focusing on the expressions of love they need from me.

Love is transformational—and we can become God’s agents of change to people in our lives by simply taking time each day to give love—and love can be given in many different ways, as we’ve seen from 1 Corinthians 13.

Here’s how you can start practicing love—becoming an intentional lover. It begins when you allow God’s love for you to fill up the emptiness inside you. When your need to be loved is met as you more and more understand that your identity is found in Jesus’ love for you. When you daily remind yourself that you are the one Jesus loves. That is what gives you value and significance. Then, knowing you are loved by the one true God, that then gives you the ability to love others, and then you’ll discover that the love you give others comes back to you. We get love by giving it away, and we have love to give away because we know we are loved by Jesus.

So, not only does God’s love fill you up and satisfy you, as you start giving love to others, that love comes back to you and fills you up, so that you’re overflowing with the knowledge that God loves you and you are enriched by the love you receive from others. Who is in your life today? How can you give them love? Here are some suggestions:

  • Purpose in your heart to find something good about that person or people in your life today and express it in words to them.
  • Listen to someone’s story without criticizing or lecturing them—even without giving advice.
  • Call someone who is needy and say “I’m here for you if you need me.”
  • Compliment someone on a job well done, an attractive outfit, a kindness offered.
  • Smile!

It doesn’t take much to share love with someone else. We just have to remember to do it.  So, of course, we need to pray that God will help us to become lovers—people who willingly and frequently share his love with others.  Remember, love begets love.  Try it!  You won’t be sorry you did.

Let me share one more truly incredible truth about God’s love for you, from Romans 8:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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.

As God’s love becomes more and more real to you, through Jesus Christ and what he has done for you to redeem you, you will become more and more able to love others. Love is powerful.  It never fails.  So, I hope you will more and more bask in the incredibly good news that God loves you and nothing can separate you from his love.  And then you will become more and more intentional about loving others.  It has the power to transform you, your relationships, your attitude, your productivity—love transforms us.  Believe me, it’s true.