Rick Warren's Blog, page 546

Five First Steps to Building a Life of Love

I���ve been on this earth for a while now, and I���m still convicted by God about how little I really know about love and how often I am an unloving person. But the fact is, we all need work in this area. We all have a lot of growing to do as we mature in God���s love.

Understanding God���s Definition of Love

If we���re going to do a whole devotional series on love ��� and, more importantly, if the Bible says it needs to be so central to our lives ��� let���s take a few moments to consider what love really is.

Life Is About Relationships, Not Accomplishments

We learned yesterday that the Bible is very clear about what really matters in life: ���If you are a follower of Christ Jesus . . . all that matters is your faith that makes you love others��� (Galatians 5:6 CEV).

Nothing Matters Without Love

Have you ever wondered what matters to God? The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:6: ���If you are a follower of Christ Jesus . . . all that matters is your faith that makes you love others��� (CEV). God says what matters in life is not your accomplishments or your achievements or your fame or your wealth. The other thing that matters is having a faith that causes you to love other people. If you miss that, you have missed the most important thing in life.

Speaking Truth in Love Means Taking a Risk

It���s scary to speak the truth in love. The reason why we stuff our feelings and hide the issues in our relationships is because we fear the possible consequences. We let fear become greater than our love. Speaking the truth in love means taking a great risk! And because we don���t want to take that risk, we settle for superficial, shallow relationships.

Confront in Truth, Affirm in Love

A healthy, strong relationship is always built on two legs: confronting in truth and affirming in love. If you only have one of these legs in your relationship, it isn���t going to stand. It will fall over at just about anything!

It Matters How You Say Something

When you plan to lovingly confront someone, after you���ve checked and corrected your motivation, then plan your presentation. You have to think about when you���ll say it (make sure the other person is rested), what you���ll say (introduce it well so it will be received well), and how you���ll say it.

Confronting for the Right Reasons

As you learn how to love like Jesus, if you want to move out of grade school and into graduate school, learn to confront issues in your relationships that are keeping you from being closer. You have to learn how to face issues that scare you to death ��� and you have to learn how to do it in love

Kindness Is Worth the Cost

There is always a cost to kindness. It inevitably causes you to sacrifice time, money, energy, reputation, privacy, or something. There was a cost for the Good Samaritan, too.

Kindness Is Worth the Cos

There is always a cost to kindness. It inevitably causes you to sacrifice time, money, energy, reputation, privacy, or something. There was a cost for the Good Samaritan, too.