Lessons in Love

      God needs to teach us how He loves so we can better love others, and how much and how complete His love is, for us to have a better understanding of Him and to gain more appreciation that He chose us to be His.  A lesson that gets so ingrained in the heart and mind that it can not be forgotten, is painful, but is also glorious, and, of course, ultimately magnifies the scope and intensifies the depth of the character of God.  Glimpses into God's character is all He wants for his children, so that we can learn and strive to be more like that perfect and glorious character.  Once that first small glimpse is learned, the next glimpse appears, which is often a more difficult lesson, and that cycle continues all our life.  More often, these lessons get more painful, overwhelming, and heart-wrenching, especially when they are about Christ's love.  After these harsh love lessons, the reality becomes more real that we need to love all our brothers and sisters in Christ and people in the world unashamedly, non descrimanatingly and, as in 1 Corinthians 13, covering all faults.  One indication of pure love is that others will probably not understand how a Christian can love a person so involved in worldliness.  Jesus is the only true example Christians have of how to love and through some harsh lessons, the Lord gives a small glimpse of what it's like to have such a love for someone, and for reasons inexplicable other than exemplifying the love of God.
           These lessons are harsh, however the Lord first needs to humble us to a place of teachableness and a willingness to be transformed into His image.