The Foundation of Love
By Richard, Youth Pastor

God designed us to need love and a desire to give love.

Matthew 18:1-4

.To become as little children? So I guess we should start running around, tattling on each other, and saying "oooo, he's got cooties" or "she took my toy" or even " Vernon bit me!" No, I don't believe Jesus is saying that. Think of different characteristics of a child. How many times have you seen a child do something incredibly dangerous? You're like "oh no" or you take a huge gasp! You see, little kids almost have no feared what so ever. Why? It's because of the foundation of love that they have. Children have it programmed into their mind that they are safe, because of the love of the parents or adults around them. They know that if something hurts, or they cry, or whimper; 9 out 10 times they will be picked up.

Now as believers, we as children of God need to understand our foundation in God's love. We need to be completely dependent on God.

What happens to a plant when you take it out of the soil? It will eventually wither and die. What happens when you take a fish out of water? It will eventually die. What happens to a person when they are without oxygen? That person will die. This is the same with God's love. Without it there is just something wrong. A person without proper love is affected in sometimes very adverse ways. And they could be affected throughout their life.

Lack of a foundation of God's love causes...

1. Insecurity/maladjusted behavior: they can't function as the person that god wants them to be, because they can't get past the person in the mirror.
2. Attention seeking behavior: when a person is lacking a love relationship with God, or no one shows them God's true love, then this seeking behavior brings about negative attention. This could possibly result in a person getting life altering consequences because of the love that they seek, or the love that they think they need.
3. A need to earn peoples approval: God has infinite love, more for us then someone else's approval. God's love is so, that He can't love us less and there is no end to His love. We mist get this point across to the lost. We're not here for approval; we're here to obey God and act! Amen!

Do we deserve God's love? No.

I thought of how my daughter, Chloe, reaches up to me or Amber and how we always pick her up, because we love her. And then I visualized myself reaching up to God and His huge hands picking me up and holding me up o His chest. And I thought to myself, I don't deserve this. I'm a wretch! I'm not worthy of this kind of unconditional love. But that's exactly what we get. Erin Davis said he would never let one his kids die for us, and to be honest I don't think I could let Chloe suffer like Jesus suffered. God allowed his one and only son to die for murderers, liars, adulterers, I could not do that.

True love wants to do anything to be with somebody, and Jesus did that. He did what it took to be with s, and yet we reject Him still to this day. There is a saying that you're missing out on life if you're not willing to die for the cause of Christ. Are we missing out?

Do we want to experience God's true love? I think some believers are scarred, why would a believer be scarred of God's true love? Because when you experience this, god will reveal those you don't love with a Godly love and it will be inconvenient for you.

We are called to love, a Godly love; a love that looks past the little things; a love that looks past the HUGE things, a love that allows your heart to break for what breaks God's heart.

Jesus' ministry was based on love, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is a theme, not what have you done for me lately. Love your neighbor; love your wife as God loved the church. Reach out to the lost; seek out those who are needy and lonely. Turn the other cheek. Correct out of love. We will fail at all these things if we do not have a rooted foundation in God's love.

When we understand the foundation of love that is God, then our lives and how we look at people will change drastically. How we react will change drastically. All of a sudden we start seeing others the way Jesus sees them, the way Jesus sees us; through LOVE.

Are we willing to ask God?

God break my heart for what breaks Yours.
God help me to love those that hate me.
God soften my heart of stone.

God will. If you have never taken the opportunity to experience God's love by asking Him to be your Lord and Savior, I ask that you do that now. If you would like someone to pray for you, please allow us to do that for you.