We love, because He first loved

Monday - day off.
As I was washing after QT - thought:
“I’m not good at the art of people and relationships,
but I do love God and I know how much he loves his people.
They are His, as much as I am His.
He loves His children, as much as He loves me.."

This is what calls me to love people.
And when relationships get tough,
There are times when I still have to hold on
Because of the grace and mercy first afforded to me.
Jesus loved me when I was not lovable,
God sent Him to be my redeemer, even in my sinfulness.
I am learning to be gracious to those who may not love me back too..
To those who may repay my gestures with hurt
I love them because He loves them..

I pray that our love increases, 
And that the genuineness of this heart will reach through some day.
But even if it doesn’t and and my love is not received,
That’s okay, because God sees my heart. He sees me.. 
My life is, first of all, before God. 

"Love seeks its happiness in the happiness of the beloved. It will even suffer and die for the beloved in order that its joy might be full in the life and purity of the beloved. This is how Christ loved us, and this is how he calls us to love one another."
#SolidJoys #DesiringGod p206-207

"Our barometer or litmus test for how we love God is how we love people. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and love neighbor. What’s interesting, though, is He says the greatest commandment (singular) is to love God and love people (two commands — plural). So is Jesus a C student who just didn’t get it? Or is He creatively saying it is one commandment because you can’t separate the two. You love God by loving neighbor. ♥ How you love your neighbor is a reflection of how you love God." - @jeffersonbethke #jeffersonbethke