As the holiday season comes to a close, perhaps you, like me, have had the opportunity to be around a lot of people, family and friends alike. Now some of those people you just LOVE and enjoy being around, in fact you couldn't wait to get together with them! (Hopefully that includes your spouse and your children.) But, what do you do with those people that you just don't like!? Maybe it's the "in-law" that always seems to have a little piece of "advice" for you in how to raise your teenager when they don't even have kids! Or what about the neighbor down the street who is always complaining about your children or your dog? How about that that person in your Sunday School class that talks too much or the gal you were on a committee with who always loved their idea better than yours?!

Naturally (hopefully) it's easy (or at least easier!) to love your own family but, is it true for you like me, that the further you move down the line from those in your "inner circle" it becomes less natural to have a genuine love for others? Until recently, I always thought this was just the way it was supposed to be until I read in 2 Peter 1:7-8 which says in the NLT, "Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 3 in this same chapter tells us that "as we know Jesus better His divine power gives us everything we need for living a Godly life."

First, it isn't going to come "natural" to love others. This can only happen by the Spirit's power. Let's face it, there are going to be people in your life that just plain make it hard to like them, much less love them! In Rick Warren's book "Purpose Driven Life", he calls these people "EGR" (extra grace required). I believe these verses tell us that first we can only have this supernatural love because of Christ's divine nature at work in us as believers. Secondly, there is a divine progression at work here. First, you must desire to know God better and then begin to act on that desire by reading and studying His Word. You will become more Godly as you apply this living Word to your life and you will find that your love for other Christians will begin to grow. Then, as that love matures you will begin to have a genuine love for those outside your biological family and spiritual family.

If you're struggling with loving others, can I suggest the cause may not be as much of a "love issue" as it is a lack of Godliness? I saw this truth first hand with my own husband. Grant went through a difficult time spiritually earlier in our marriage where he claimed to not like people. He really did not want to be around anyone other than our children and I (which was also a bit "ify" sometimes) haha. This was not at all like the Grant that I married because that person LOVED to be around people and people loved to be around him. That was one of the qualities that I appreciated about him. But, as his walk with Christ began to wane, so did his love for others. That shocks most of you who know Grant now but it was a very sad time for both of us. However, as soon as He began walking in a right relationship with the Lord again, I saw him morph back into the person who loved others and was loved in return.

If you found yourself lacking in the "love department" this season, you're not alone! But, will you determine to begin 2008 with a desire to know Jesus better so that His divine power can flow through you. Then, as you grow in Godliness through His Word, thereby allowing His agape love to flow, first to your families, then to the watching, waiting, love-starved world around you, others will be drawn to Jesus Christ and He will be glorified and you will be partakers in His divine nature!

Agape,

Kellie Williams

Over the past few weeks I have been re-reading the Christmas story and finding several new nuggets of truth along with the familiar, treasured kingdom principles I have come to embrace. Now knowing the familiar, and acting on it are two entirely different matters! There is so much about Mary, the mother of Jesus, that amazes me, from the fact that she was "chosen" to give birth to our Savior, which is totally beyond my realm of earthly comprehension, to the fact that this "highly favored" very pregnant woman had to saddle a donkey and trek across a bumpy, uncomfortable terrain some 70 miles from home! Sometimes we forget that, even though she was righteous and highly favored, she was not divine, rather completely human, right down to the hormones and emotions.

I see the immediate difference between the two of us when I read of her response to the Angel Gabriel's announcement that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. I would have pulled an "Elaine" and said "Get Out!" Not her, she responded to this incredulous, miraculous news by saying, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be unto me as you have said." That's it. What an example of complete faith, trust & maturity this young teenage woman is! Of course when Mary said that, she didn't know about the tremendous opportunity she would have. She only knew that God was asking her to serve Him, and she willingly obeyed. She didn't have to have all the facts in order to be obedient. I would have required so much more information than this, how about you? I tend to get anxious when the "plan" doesn't come together in my time or my way. I'm certain the Lord grows weary of my desire to "help Him" along the way!

I believe Mary's response is one that God awaits to hear from His children still today. Will we trust God and His plan even when we don't understand or can't see the outcome? Isn't that, after all, what faith is? Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see? If God was for me to the point that He did not withhold from me His only Son, why would He ask me to do something or endure something that would cause me harm? Of course the answer is He wouldn't! I have faith in God's character, that He is who He says He is; and in His promises, that He will do what He says He will do. And when my faith is weak, I simply pray, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief."

Seeking His Perfect Plan,

Kellie Williams