It's not my intent to blog late at night. Sometimes it just happens to work out that way. It is not my desire to wait until late each day to write. We will try to improve on this as time goes along. Now let's turn to the topic of the evening. We sure do need to think on the topic of love in a new way. The more that I read about love as well as think about it the more it seems we are just missing the mark. What we need to recover is the authentic meaning behind that four letter word. We know how to say it but far too little on how to show it.

If you attend many of the services that I lead then you will hear me say repeatedly that love is impossible without God. Granted that is an easy statement to paraphrase from the apostle John but it's true. How on earth can we experience or express love if we do not know what it means eternally? Real love is not just being sloppily emotional. Real love is not just being greatly sensitive. Real love takes genuine action. Jesus did not merely walk around saying "I love you" but He did loving things for people. Real love is as tough as it is tender. It takes risks rather than failing to try.

There probably is not a person alive who has not felt the crushing pain of love gone amiss. Most if not all people understand what a broken heart feels like. Sometimes it happens within the family dynamic. Sometimes the broken heart takes place with friends we trusted. The saddest place it happens is in church. No one can never explain to me how followers of Jesus can injure one another so often. I do not refer to the accidental or indirect times of church life when feelings can get ruffled. People can intentionally hurt others way too much. It is far too easy for us to stop taking the eternal view of people when caught up in the emotion of the moment.

Paul said that at some point we have to leave childish things behind. He said a mouthful on that one. Some of what we need to leave behind is the childish idea that we are the center of the universe. The me first mentality within churches will eventually also be the ruin of them. Some have that mentality in wishing for or even demanding attention from other people. Some use that mentality to tear down those who do not agree with them. Sadly, there are far too many churches and people who live with the scars of such unhealthiness. Maybe over the next few days we can explore this more.

My hope is for you to learn the reality of God's love. I also hope you can learn from my mistakes as well as my scars. Maybe we can all grow up in this elusive issue of love together.

Bro. Trey