Love That Gives Up ... In A Good Way

Danny and I have always said that we study the Bible for ourselves, then teach our youth group what we've learned. That sentiment could not have been more true for me as I prepared for our February series on love.

Our theme for the month is Love, Actually: The Kinds No One Tells You About. This week's focus is that love is more than a feeling. It's not all hearts and flowers and candy. It's not even necessarily romantic.

The very best example I could think of was Jonathan. He was a crown prince, the future king, Israel's top warrior. Everyone expected him to win all the time. But then here comes David, the new guy. He's talented and rising fast. King Saul has gone insane with jealousy and is incredibly unstable.

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. 1 Samuel 18:1-4


Jonathan initiated a friendship with the man that was eventually going to take everything that currently belonged to him. Jonathan knew was giving up more than just his robe and his weapons. He was trading his status, his future, because he loved David as much as he loved himself. Doesn't that sound like he was living out the second greatest command in all Scripture?

Love that gives up, in a good way. 

Jonathan, the crown prince of Israel, gave up the throne because he saw something in David. He gave up the power because his friend was called by God Himself to become royalty. Giving up is always hard, unless it's love doing the giving up.

Even when it looked like God was taking something vitally important from him, Jonathan still trusted God with his future, and he found great joy in his friendship with David, right to the very end of his life. Love often starts with trusting God, not trusting the outcomes that may, or may not, come.

Jonathan loved David even knowing he might never be king, he might lose his father's approval, and that he might literally lose everything. Love gave up in the best way.

Love doesn't always mean hugs and kisses in red and pink. The love God has placed in our hearts acts even when it doesn't necessarily benefit us. It loves when there's no guarantee of anything in return.  Love gives up when it needs to in all the good ways.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more