Good morning darling! Ever since I made the decision to pursue the Lord wholeheartedly, I have been blessed with a peace and rejuvenation that guards my soul. I certainly am far from perfect, but each day I make it my number one priority to live with an awareness of God’s sovereignty. Now, the fact that the Lord died for me free of charge is absolutely AMAZING. In the word, I am confirmed of my cleanliness, and holiness in the Lord’s sight, and I’m given a chance to begin a relationship with HIM. Can you just absorb that for a minute? The Lord of heaven and earth has granted me with the opportunity to commence a lifelong relationship with HIM, at no extra cost. The Lord sure is good. However, right from my youth, my parents have taught me that nothing worth having comes without a cost. I ’m sure you’re all familiar with the saying: ‘No pain, no gain.’
Although the Lord doesn’t require us to physically take up our crosses and imitate what He did on the cross, he does require us to love others. THE DEBT WE OWE JESUS AS AN APPRECIATION OF WHAT HE DID FOR US IS LOVE. On numerous accounts in the bible, Jesus exemplifies this love and in the golden commandment which can be found in Mark 12v31, we are told to ‘love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Now, if you are anything like me, you would find this commandment rather difficult to attain. I don’t have the most affectionate personality, and so unfortunately love doesn’t come naturally to me, at times. I have to make a conscious effort to love others.
What makes this commandment particularly difficult, is loving others who don’t reciprocate the sentiment. I feel so foolish and weak when I deliberately make an effort to be kind and warm to another, and get nothing but a cold shoulder in response. However, God never fails to remind me of the point in time when I was his enemy, and what was his response? Sending his one and only son, just so I could gain redemption.
If the Father could kill his beloved as a show of love towards us, when we were his enemies, then smiling at that ‘mean’ girl, surely shouldn’t be too much to ask for. Befriending somebody who has betrayed you surely shouldn’t be too much to ask for. Making peace with those who have offended you surely shouldn’t be too much to ask for. None of these require death. Now that was the ultimate sacrifice.
So can I just encourage you to persist in loving all those around you? Win them over with your quiet and gentle spirit. Although it may seem like your efforts are in vain, always remember that there is always one who sees your each and every action, and is consistent with rewarding you. Goodness and kindness are two traits that never go in vain.
Peace and love, sisters.
Have a blessed day!
About Sharon
My name is Sharon Ordor, I am a living testament of what God can do in your life if you give Him a chance to truly reform you. I am a full time student, but in my spare time I enjoy make-up, fashion, reading and cooking. I believe it is my purpose to literally redefine beauty, God has given me an insight into how many women seek to attain these ideals and standards, that frankly speaking are unattainable. This leaves us feeling insecure, and broken; however I wish to transform the understanding you have of your worth, and give you an insight into how valuable and precious you are to God. You can find me blogging at Redefining Beauty. You can find us on face book, via: https://www.facebook.com/innerglitter. Alternatively, do feel free to subscribe to my you tube channel.
Wonderful! Our greatest mission is to love, spread love, live love. A debt that’s challenging but rewarding to pay.
I am so touched and fortunate to have touched your perspectives, and encouraged you towards doing the right thing. God bless you all, I pray that you continue to keep your focus on the most High. he rocks!!
This really puts things in perspective. I sat through a sermon once that spoke of God being the rewarder and how we shouldn’t look to others for reward. This is very reminiscent of that in the vein that I should not always expect my kind acts to be reciprocated by others because the reward comes from Him. Thanks!
This is simply amazing,and I have been blessed by it! I am currently going through a situation where it is really tough for me to love some people in my life who have hurt me, but after reading your post, I’ve seen my error in holding forgiveness back from them. Compared to what Jesus did for me on the cross, this is absolutely nothing. You have encouraged me to love the unlovable, and to become more like what Jesus wants us to be! Thank you, and God bless you richly!! 😀
You are so beautiful sister! Thank you for sharing your heart, I can certainly relate with the hurt feelings of not getting warm response or love back. But you are right in in that without God as the driving force behind our love…it is impossible to love! It’s through Him we are able to love regardless if they love us back.