Have you ever invested in loving someone only to be left bankrupt? You gave and gave and in the end all you had to show for it was a broken heart? That’s not the kind of investment I want to make—do you?
It came as a big surprise to me to learn that God made a way for me to love others without risk of losing my investment!
Through the costly redemption of His love, God gives us the opportunity to opt-in without any risk of loss. Why no risk of loss? Because Jesus paid it all. The gift of salvation is His gift of love to humanity. He invested ALL even when He knew many would reject His gift. Jesus invested ALL of who He is so we could have ALL of His love. He GAVE all and enabled us to GIVE all.
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, NOT that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [payment] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
I John 4:9-11
When we are born again through Christ, we are IN CHRIST and His Spirit resides within us. Our spirit and soul are secure and—His love—belongs to us. Therefore, when we love HIS way [selflessly], we are simply giving away what we have been given. We are giving away what we can’t EVER lose. God’s love never runs out so we run no risk of running out either.
The only way to love others without risk is to love God’s way.
To love for any other motivation than selflessness, is to risk losing our investment. Our expectation for return should be based on our relationship with God, and what we expect from Him; not what we expect from the person we are investing in. Human love is riddled with failed expectations; it is only God who never fails. We must place our greatest expectation for love in our relationship with Him. “We love Him because He FIRST loved us.” (1 John 4:19) When we build a relationship with God, we become secure in His love.
We can love others without reservation because God first loved us!
If our expectation for giving love is primarily the promise of its return from the person we are investing in, then we are sure to be disappointed. So, for example, if you are investing in a relationship with a person you view as a potential spouse, the focus of investing time, money, and your heart should all be with the purpose of glorifying God. Then your greatest hope is not in the relationship with the person; but rather, your joint relationship with God. This is true of any relationship—spouse, children, friendships, business partners, etc. Through our deep relationship with God, we are guided to have HIS story written all over the pages of the book. It may be a short story or it may be a complete biography—either way it is delightful. God knows the answer. Irrespective of the outcome—our investment is not wasted.
When God’s love is the foundation of our relationships, we are free to love without reservation.
To learn more about Kimberly Faith and the mission of Faith Strong, click HERE.
Out Now – Essential Faith, Volume II. Find it on Amazon by clicking HERE.
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