Episode #172 See God’s Love on Display in Your Life – Know You from God’s Point of View

Hey friends, it's Jen, and welcome to another episode of Good God Talks. We're in a series, getting to know ourselves better by asking God to share with us more about who he is and how he sees us, because God knows us better than we even know ourselves.

And the topic for today is love.

As Christians, we know that love is not just something that God does, it's something that God is. God is love, and he offers his love to us. And then as we receive his love, we then get to share his love with other people in our lives.

I'm going to read a few passages of scripture for us, starting with John 13:34-35, it says

“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.” (John 13:34-35 NIV)

And I don't know about you, but I've gone through seasons where I missed the middle part of that passage of scripture.

I understood this is a command, I need to love people.
And I show myself to be a disciple of Christ by how I love.
But I missed that middle part “as I have loved you, so you love one another.”

See, the way that we love other people, even the way that we grow in love for ourselves, and the way that we're able to love God, is by receiving God's love for us.

We are not the originators of this love. God is.

And so we receive love from him and then we're able to reflect it back to him and to share it with other people.
In Matthew 22:37-39, it says,

“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.’” (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV)

And then in 1 John 4:12 “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:12 NIV)

Again, we see God's love residing in us, and then as a by-product, we're able to share God's love with other people.
And so as I was preparing for today's episode, I really arrived on two questions that we can talk with God about. And I encourage you, ask God both questions or pick the one that most resonates with you to talk with God about today.

Both of these questions were really impactful for me personally. And yes, I ask God these questions too. I ask him the questions when I'm prepping these episodes now, even as I'm recording them. And then I go back and I listen , because there's always something new that God wants to share with us.

And so our first question is about receiving and noticing God's love in our own lives:

God, what's an area of my life where you're actively demonstrating your love for me?

There might be areas where you're aware of God's love in really tangible ways and other aspects that God wants to show you or reveal to you in greater detail.

And then the second question,

God, is there a particular part of my life where you see me reflecting your love particularly well?

God's answer to this question for me actually surprised me today. When I asked him the second question, he reminded me of a new habit that I'm building in our home. See, I tend to put my head down and focus on the tasks I have at hand. And I work from home and I'm here with my boys after school or during the summer, during the days.

And so it's pretty normal for me to be trying to wrap something up, whether that's a project or an email or dinner, when my husband, Jared, arrives home from work. And Jared has shared with me before that it speaks love to him when I go and greet him when he comes home. And this is a little embarrassing for me to share with you because that sounds almost like a given, but it wasn't natural for me. I would just keep doing what I was doing to get things wrapped up. And then I'd greet him when he went and put his stuff away, changed into comfy clothes and came back to join our family in the living room or the kitchen or whatever.

But since Jared shared this with me, I've been making an effort to change my habit to include me going to greet him when he comes into our home. I enjoy those moments with him, and he does too. And when I asked God this question today, about if there's an area in my life where I'm reflecting God's love, particularly well, He brought to mind these moments when my husband first gets home.

And he said, there, that's one of those areas. Which was so meaningful to me in part, because it can feel like such a small thing.

And so I encourage you, take these questions to God, see what He wants to show you and continue those conversations with Him.

God, what's an area of my life where you're actively demonstrating your love for me?

And is there a part of my life where you see me reflecting your love particularly well?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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