"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'." (John 7:38)




"Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." (1Cor. 2:12-13)

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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Heartful, Not Hurtful


The value of a gift should not be determined by the preferences of the heart that receives it, but through the love of the heart that gives it.

When self image and preservation prevents us from experiencing things that differ from our own tastes, then we have become selfish with our love while burdening others with the insult of avoidance.

Love's power, beyond the superficial, can't be known by us until we are willing to loosen our necktie, let down our hair, and embrace the variety of other hearts around us.

Love that knows how to give is first love that has learned how to receive.


PJR 


"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." (1 John 3:16)

2 comments:

  1. Love that knows how to give is first love that knows how to receive. I love that. It took me so long to learn how to receive God's love freely given, something I'm still learning in many ways. That's the starting place in learning how to receive. I know some lovely people who love to give, but when you try to give back they can't receive it without embarrassment or feeling unworthy. They can only be the giver, not the receiver. I have come to believe it's because they've never received God's love without feeling unworthy. Thankyou for sharing these deep and profound thoughts. In my own experience these words are very true.

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    1. Hi, Cheryl. You've brought up a great point; our feeling of unworthiness and the inability to cope with it. The love of mere man is is a warfield! Isn't it beautiful to come across those close to Christ that freely express the pure form of perfect love!

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