Andrea Wind contributing writer
the Meaning of
LOVE . The word is overused and so often misunderstood .
Months ago , I would have considered myself a loving person . Compassion came naturally to me . I thought and spoke kindly of others and was able to see the good in people , even when others could not . However , I came to realize that even though I was loving , I was not very good at truly loving others . There is a difference , you know - especially when it comes to loving others with a Godly love . You see , in order to really love others authentically , you must first have a correct understanding of what love is . You must have love within yourself in order to give it away . I have come to believe that so many people try and fail at giving love because they are trying to pour out love from a place of emptiness . That just will not work .
If you are a person desiring to be more loving , I want to encourage you to stop for a moment and take inventory of yourself where love is concerned . As I began doing this , I was shocked at what I discovered . For example , for years the enemy had me convinced that I was undeserving of love . Shame , guilt , and feelings of unworthiness kept me from truly receiving the love that was poured out on me – love from my Heavenly Father , my husband , and others . I didn ’ t realize it at the time , but I was constantly , unknowingly , rejecting their love . It was like there was this little room just outside of my heart where all of the “ love ” exchanges took place . I thought I was loving others and receiving love from others , but it wasn ’ t ever flowing to and from my heart . My heart was imprisoned by the lies told by the enemy . I had believed these lies as truth .
During my first week at “ Restoring the Foundations International ,” a ministry conference designed to bring integrated emotional and spiritual healing , many of these lies were exposed and replaced with God ’ s truth . After returning home from the conference , I began walking out my new belief system and slowly started to believe that I was worth loving . During prayer one morning , the Holy Spirit revealed truth to me regarding my struggle with my Heavenly Father . See , I could connect with Jesus . I felt safe with Him . But , for some reason , I did not connect well with my Heavenly Father . It was a struggle . I found myself constantly hiding behind Jesus , afraid of Him seeing me . I realized that the reason I felt afraid was because of the remaining shame and guilt that were fighting hard to come back and keep me from enjoying true freedom . But , when I began to see myself the way the Father sees me , things began to shift . I was beautiful and perfectly made . There were no blemishes anywhere to be found . God ’ s love poured into His making of me and overflowed to completely surround me . These revelations were breathtaking and completely overwhelming . I began realizing that when I come before my Heavenly Father , this is what He sees ! This was the real me ! This is who I really am ! Tears washed my face as the reality began to take root and as I marveled at this beautiful creation – a creation so full of love .... me ! This moment was a huge breakthrough for me . That day started a change in my thinking . Because of these newly embraced truths , I am finally able to truly begin to love and to receive love .
With this new foundation of God ’ s love for me , God is teaching me even more about what love really looks like . The world ’ s “ love ” is nothing like Godly love — love in its purest form . The Gospels in Scripture are full of living stories that show what love looks like . Jesus didn ’ t just act in a loving way , or love others well . Jesus is love ! As I have been studying love in God ’ s Word , I am coming to realize that love looks very different from how I once believed it did . As the Holy Spirit creates an accurate view of love for me , I am continually redirected back to the ‘ love traits ” found in Scripture , best known as “ the love chapter ” — 1 Corinthians 13 . If you haven ’ t read that lately , I want to encourage you to spend some time there , and ponder the writer ’ s divine description of what love is and what it is not .
As for me , I still have a long way to go in my journey of loving others well , but I feel that now I am slowly moving in the right direction . I am walking out Godly love in my own life , as well as allowing Jesus to pour out this type of love - His love - onto others . As I am learning what Godly love looks like , I am learning who my Heavenly Father is , and I am connecting with Him on a whole new level . God is love ! Love is His very essence and His complete nature ! If we desire to love more , I can think of no better source for instruction and inspiration than His Word . That , my friends , is love .
116 FEBRUARY 2017 SHEMAGAZINE . COM