you'll never become a great lover by yourself...

5. get support from other loving people.

this is so important. you’ll never become a great lover by yourself in your room and reading a book. you only learn it in connection to others, in the context of community, in the environment of relationships. you’ve got to get with people if you’re going to learn to be a great loving person. that’s one of the reasons why a small group is so good. it’s put you in a group who are not part of your family, who are totally different from you, and you have to learn to get close to them. that’s how you learn to love. that’s how you develop skills. you never learn it just sitting back and listening. you learn it in relationship to other people.

think about this: GOD gave you a church to go to. GOD put you in a church because HE wants you to study love. that’s why you go. but if you don’t get on board with this, you’re going to miss the very reason GOD made the church.

we’ve got a lot to learn together, but fortunately we have a model. ephesians 5.2 (mes) says, keep company with GOD and learn a life of love. observe how CHRIST loved us. HIS love was not cautious but extravagant. HE didn’t love in order to get something back but to give everything of HIMself to us. love like that.

you say, “impossible. there’s no way that i can love like JESUS CHRIST.” you’re right. there is no way that you could possibly love like JESUS CHRIST and love as much as HE loves you on your own power. that’s why you need JESUS CHRIST in your life. that’s why you need HIM inside of you and the first step is to say, “JESUS CHRIST, put your love in me. come inside me. i open my heart to YOU.” in the days ahead, i'm going to teach you how to let GOD love other people through you rather than you just trying to do it on your own power. how do you let GOD put HIS love through you?

1 corinthians 13:13 (ph), in this life we have three lasting qualities: faith, hope and love. but the greatest of these is love. why is love the greatest? because it’s going to last forever.

when you get to heaven, you’re not going to need faith, because you’re going to be in the presence of GOD. you won’t need faith in heaven. when you get to heaven, you’re not going to need hope. you’re not going to need hope because all your needs will be met. you won’t need hope or faith. but when you get to heaven, heaven is filled with love because GOD is love. the bible doesn’t say GOD is faith. the bible doesn’t say GOD is hope. the bible says GOD is love. and love is going to go on for the rest of eternity.

just a thought here on the front porch…