Do You Love Me?

Ever wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep? Ever wonder why? Something you've left undone perhaps? Or something you are afraid of? What if it's someone trying to tell you something. "Wake up Neo."

I had a weird dream the other night. I was having a conversation with two friends in a bar perhaps or in a crowded restaurant. Suddenly two men came in. One of the men reached down towards one of my friends, like he's giving my seated friend a hug, and he placed something into my friend's coat pocket. Drugs.

That was at 3:15AM.

Naturally, my brain had to figure out what all that meant . . . for the next hour or so. Thoughts bounced around in my head like a shiny steel ball in a pinball machine. Perfect. The bouncing ball finally stopped and I was able to fall back asleep but not before getting up and writing some of my thoughts down on paper. This is what I wrote.

 .......

Do You Love Me?

True obedience to the will of God

Do we love others as much as we should?

As much as He loves us?

Do we live our lives as a reflection of Him?

Do we minister to those in need of Him with passion?

OUR ministries must take a backseat to His.

OUR will, OUR thoughts, OUR hopes.

Love one another. If you love Me . . .

.......

"If you love me, keep my commands." - John 14:15

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16

In Ephesians 5 the apostle Paul describes the relationship between Jesus (the bridegroom) and His church (the bride). He speaks of respect and sacrifice but he starts off the chapter with this.

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 5:1-2

Then I stumbled upon the lyrics of an old Vic Damone song that asked this question.

"Do I love you because you're beautiful? Or are you beautiful because I love you?"

And how about this verse?

"19 We love because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

What does all this have to do with my dream? I have NO idea. Well, I actually I do. We, as Christians, are to love one another. That seems pretty clear to me. And we are to do so unconditionally. But can we love a drug dealer? Can we love someone who is addicted to drugs? Can we love someone who is living in sin? Can we love someone who pulls a trigger and removes a loved one from our lives? Yes. Absolutely. We are commanded to!

I met a man at a local food pantry this past Saturday. Late 50's maybe. walking with a cane. Frail, wobbly, weak. I demonstrated love towards him, placed my hand on his shoulder and we talked. The man smiled and thanked me. He shook my hand. I don't even know his name. His name is not important. What IS important is that I loved, like Jesus loved, and that made all the difference to this man.

Do we love others as much as we should? No. Why not? Are we afraid? I think we are. We're afraid of how we might be perceived. We shouldn't think that way. Why? Because . . . there is no fear in love.

"Perfect love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love." - 1 John 4:18

"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. "

Let Me Love You Tonight - Pure Prairie League