Learning to Love Like Christ!

As Christians, we are called to be like Christ. I know it sounds pretty crazy, especially since Christ was the only perfect human that has ever existed on earth! So if we are suppose to be like Christ, what does that mean and how? What characteristic do we need to have to be like him? There is one trait that truly reveals what Christ-likeness is…it is love. Love is Christ. All commandments and obedience to God is founded on love. We must learn to love God first, and then we must love the people around us.

The next question that I ask is “how do I love?” First, let me say that I do not fully know how to do this and I am far from loving God and others to my best ability, but God has revealed something to me this morning that I had not noticed before. For the past year, I have been praying that God would help me learn to love. I have prayed that He would teach me what being like Christ truly means and to give me that characteristic he possesses so perfectly. I encourage you to begin doing the same today, but I warn you do not say it unless you are ready to learn what love is!

When I first began saying this prayer I thought God would simply insert more love into my heart, so that I would be able to love Him and others more fully. It is not like that! Do teachers in a classroom simply insert knowledge into your brain? No, you have to learn it, practice it, and work hard to fully understand it! That is what God does too! As I have been saying this prayer over the last year, I can now look back and see how God has been answering it. He is teaching me how to truly love by challenging me to love people and look less at my selfish motives.

These last few months God has brought new challenging relationships into my life. He has taught me how to love by having a boyfriend. I am not saying I am fully “in love” with this boy, but I believe God is teaching me to look at someone else’s needs and wants through this relationship. I am realizing it is not all about me when you date. It has not been easy! In January, I went to Las Vegas because I am going to be doing an internship there this summer. I will be working in a church and at a Christ-centered counseling facility for drug and alcoholic addicts. While I was there I met people that are not like me and have big problems in life. First, I wanted to run the other way and I thought this place was not for me at all. Then I heard the Spirit’s voice speak to me, “who are you willing to love? Will you truly love the least and the lost, or will you only love within the limits of your comfort zone?” Well, I am going to Las Vegas in a few months! Lastly, God has placed the people involved in human trafficking on my heart. My heart breaks and bleeds for these people. I know God is calling me to do something about it. It is a heavy burden, and I pray that He continues to reveal to me how I am suppose to love these people and what I am suppose to do with this burden.

I guess my point is God does answer prayers, so be careful what you pray for! Do you want to love like Christ? Then I tell you to start praying that God will give you this characteristic, but I warn you again it will not be easy. It has been the most challenging process of my life. It is not easy to love others, and it is not easy to have God reveal to you your lack of love. But will it not be truly beneficial in the end? God will look at you someday and say, “Well done my servant, you learned to love like Christ.”