Animated by Love
In John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35, Jesus says, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Jesus transforms the original concept of loving - from loving your neighbor as yourself - to loving just as Jesus loves. This implies a kind of love where someone is even willing to lay down their life for another. Dramatic yes, but not often required from us today. However, what is required is a selfless focus on another person that requires dying to ourselves and our need to be the narcissistic center of our universe.
Darryl mentioned the phrase, "animated by love" in his sermon yesterday. I wrote it down in my Bible in John 13 and this morning I woke up thinking about it once again. When God wakes me up early, it is usually a sign that a blog is percolating!
In thinking about the idea of love, I remember an illustration about excellent loving that I have recorded in my life goals. It goes like this:
Imagine each person I interact with wears a strip of litmus paper on their forehead, designed to reveal the presence of love or hate in me - and all the gradations in between. Now imagine watching that litmus paper - as I encourage or discourage, lift up or tear down, make an emotional deposit or withdrawal.
This kind of visual aid holds me accountable to myself for my attitudes and reminds me of my continual dependence on God to supply me with a never-ending stream of unconditional love from His reservoir.
To animate something is to give it life. What a beautiful picture is created in my mind when I think about my spirit filling up like a balloon with God's love - full of vigor and zest. BTW - When you blend vigor and zest (my favorite "Z" word) you get an intense effect of enhanced enjoyment!
So, in essence, both people are blessed by animated love - the giver and the receiver. The more love I pour out - the more rich, vigorous and zesty my life becomes. Imagine our world if everyone operated this way! We would all be stumbling over each other to love anyone in sight and the world would be a very different place!
John 15:13, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
