True love is not our love for God but rather God’s love for us, it says so in 1 John 4:10.
And at times we forget that, most times I forget that, that true love is God’s love for me and not my love for God. So instead of me doing works out of my ‘devotion’ to Him, I must let him be the one who guides me in how I should love others.
For he is my lovers keeper.
I am not a loving person.
It is my desire to always “look out for myself.”
And this manifests in different ways,
At times I choose the comfort of my room over engaging with family.
At times I choose speaking to those I know in church instead of speaking to new people that I don’t know- and this is only on the days I don’t rush home.
Over a period of time, I allowed this callus to grow in my heart, wether it stemmed from the fear of rejection or pride- I’m not too sure, but I know it has affected the way I interact with people today, how I love my family, the way I see relationships, both platonic and romantic and truthfully it also affects the way I see our Father in heaven.
So this why I can wholeheartedly say : I am not a loving person.
Through the arguments I have with my sisters, my quiet time with the Lord and me listening to teachings of the word, I came to the conclusion that I. Need. Love.
I need Agape love, God’s love above every other thing, because my interactions with others are affected by how much I accept that True love is not my love for God, it’s rather God’s love for me.
So, when it says in John 13:34: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”
I realise that I am not loving out of my own strength, but I have to abide in the Lord and the Lord in me for me to bear the fruit of love.
John 14:26 says that: ‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. ‘
As we abide in the Lord and the Lord in us, we realise that his spirit will always keep us in check, he will send us little nudges on how we should love others.
Because he is our helper- he is our lover’s keeper and he will keep us on the path of love by teaching us the best way to love others.