I was standing on my deck.  It was the first cool evening of the season…the first sign that fall was nearing.  I was alone with my thoughts…contemplating the prompting I was feeling from God to share my story.  A prompting to start a blog.  I couldn’t imagine that I was “hearing” Him correctly.  I knew absolutely nothing about blogs.  I kind of knew what they were, but I had no clue how to start one.  I was also questioning Him…once again…if what I was doing was right.  Loving my son was so easy.  There is nothing he could do that would take that love away.  I guess for me loving meant accepting and that is where I was getting tripped up.  Like a child on a long trip that asks repeatedly, “Are we there yet?” I kept asking God the same questions.

• Am I really hearing you or is this something I want to believe?
• Am I handling things the way you want me to?
• Am I going to be hated because of this?

I’m sure I drove Him crazy just like my kids have done on occasion on those long trips (smile).  I pondered whether or not it was possible to have my faith and love what my “Christianity” had told me was unloveable.  And then I heard it…like a whisper…”love matters.”  Be accepting, be loving…because it matters.  I knew in that instant I was supposed to share my story in a blog, and I was to call it “Love Matters.”  This month marks my one year journey.

So, why does love matter?

I think the easy answer to that is “God is love.”

1 John 4:8 (NIV)

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

God certainly matters and if God is love, then doesn’t love matter too?  I want to know God.  REALLY know Him.  So, I am going to love because I think that is where I will meet God.  And if I don’t love…I have nothing and I gain nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I also think it is our responsibility to love…

Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

So what is love?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  8 Love never fails.

Can you imagine what this world would be like if we all lived like that…loved like that?

How will we (Christ followers) be known…

John 13:35 (NIV)

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We are made in God’s image.  We all need love because we all need God, and God is love.  We have an emptiness without Him.  He loved us so much that He sacrificed His son for us.  And He asked that we love Him and our neighbors.  This is why love matters.  It’s a big deal, and I’m not pretending that it is easy.  In fact, sometimes it will be the hardest thing you do. But in doing so, you might meet some amazing people that you otherwise would not have known.  It’s not a feeling…it’s an action.

So go out and share some love…because love matters.

You know how much I love music too so I leave you with this: