“Abide in My love.“— John 15: 9
I visited a friend in the hospital who ended up there due to self-neglect. Tests she put off, recurring health problems she chose to deny. For all her Christian service and care for other people, she saw no need to take care of herself.
Like many, her past is checkered with loss, abuse, pain, and heartache. Somehow, she came to believe the lie that she just isn’t important enough or worth enough to take care of herself properly.
Too many people believe their lives are meaningless. They are insecure, unsure of themselves, and feel rejected and unloved. The woman at the office who never gets invited to anything but puts on a brave face. The man whose wife left him, and he never quite knew why. People struggling with loneliness, difficult relationships, afraid of being hurt and rejected again…and again.
The world can be hard on our hearts!
Jesus invites us to live in His love. We don’t need to run from His love, be afraid of it, or fear the consequences. God didn’t express His love from a lofty throne in the heavens. He lived among us to care for people, to weep over their heartaches, to suffer and die. He showed us the power and hope of life everlasting.
He came for more than theology or religion. He came to teach us how to live in His love, to care for one another, to love without fear, and to reach out to the lonely, insecure, and scared.
To care for ourselves in a way that pleases the Lord.
Dr. Karl Menninger said, “Love is the key to the entire therapeutic program of the modern psychiatric hospital.”
Just think. How much healthier and blessed we would be if we all abided in the love of Jesus.
“Joy is love exalted; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love enduring; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love in school; and temperance is love in training.”
—Dwight L. Moody
