Day 28: Love Is Always Possible

"I DON'T LIKE YOU",

is the message I received from another.

And immediately the words,

"You don't have to like me, but I will LOVE YOU",

flooded my brain.

PEACE overwhelmed me,

as GOD had me practice LOVE in that moment,

to turn the other cheek,

and not to come back with a sassy comment or to become defensive.

Oh THE PEACE OF GOD'S LOVE,

when you absorb HIS TRUTH for yourself,

that HIS LOVE is a LOVE

that is for everyone.

For HIS LOVE

is a A GIFT

to pass onto to others.

What was so surreal in that moment

is that it wasn't me responding,

as it was

HIS SPIRIT

overwhelming my being with the words of

I Corinthians 13:4-8.

You know, the LOVE verse,

"Love is patient. Love is kind..."

We hear it read at weddings.

We 'know' it,

 but do we really KNOW it

by putting it into action.

Well, this verse became oh so real

as it flowed from me,

but without words,

as I

just stood there

and

LOVED.

What part of LOVE was oozing from me?

That

"LOVE

is not easy angered" 

or

better said in the message version of the bible.

"doesn't fly off the handle".

Oh what a glorious moment when the truth

that I wasn't liked by the one standing in front of me, was okay.

And maybe I was okay,

because I have heard those words over and over again,

throughout my life,

that have put holes in my heart.

HOLES that lead me to JESUS

who LOVED me back together.

Oh the gentle LOVE of JESUS

who is LOVE.

JESUS ,who also heard and still hears those words

"I don't like YOU",

when HE knocks on hearts

 and the door is never opened.

Or when each nail shouted

"I DON'T LIKE YOU".

But maybe just maybe those words

I DON"T LIKE YOU are coming from a heart

that is afraid to COME to JESUS,

 because maybe just maybe they fear that

JESUS would say to them

"I don't like you".

Ouch.

Oh that is not JESUS. 

For JESUS never turns anyone away,

instead people choose to walk away.

And why?

THE FEAR to BELIEVE~

WHAT IF JESUS is REALLY who HE says HE is.

THE FEAR TO BELIEVE~

WHAT IF I can really be FREE.

THE FEAR TO BELIEVE~

WHAT IF JESUS really LOVES ME.

Think about it.

Have you ever heard the words

"I don't like you",

whether verbally or by actions?

They are hurting words,

yet provide the opportunity

for the one who is

LOVE

to ransom your heart

with HIS LOVE.

GOD has used the

"I DON'T LIKE YOU"

moments of my life

to open up the door of my heart

to allow JESUS be who HE IS through me.

Because there was JESUS

speaking to my heart with HIS WORDS, 

that other's may not like me,

but

HE LOVES ME.

Only by HIS GRACE

that HE has poured out on all of us,

so that

HIS GRACE

will pour out of all of us,

especially in those moments 

when rejection strives to trump 

LOVE.

JESUS CHOOSES LOVE ALWAYS,

HIS LOVE that is in us enables us to do the impossible,

For I don't have the courage or the strength to do anything,

unless it is through CHRIST who strengthens me to face anything.

For when you stand IN CHRIST,

it is HIS LOVE that permeates your being,

so that HIS GRACE is passed on,

and HIS PEACE fills the air.

I know some people like me and that some people don't like me,

for don't we all like some people or don't like others.

But is it the person you like or don't like,

or is about their actions?

For what if it wasn't about liking or not liking,

if at first we look at each other as

GOD'S CREATION. 

The SAME GOD created EVERYONE,

and that is why

GOD'S LOVE

came for one and for all

through JESUS.

Thank you GOD for

A CHRISTMAS IN MY HEART,

 by GRACING me with the words and actions

 to not be defensive when

I am not liked,

but instead to say

with or without words

that,

"You may not like me, but I will LOVE YOU",

for JESUS LOVED me when I didn't know HIM.

Oh

"I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me"

(Philippians 4:13),

for I choose

"THE JESUS WAY"

(listen to the song below)