4 WAYS TO HAVE OVERFLOWING LOVE

You are a loving person. However, do you sometimes feel you could love more? Is it possible to increase your capacity to love?

My mom often prayed that we would all get“more love.” I agreed while not realizing mom’s prayer request included me! However, later, as my love was tested, I definitely needed more love. Furthermore, to get there would require some actions on my part. Read on to see how.

Paul, the apostle, described mom’s “more love” as “overflowing love.”Like mom, he also prayed that his followers would discover a love that overflowed (I Thessalonians 3:12 NLT).

4 WAYS TO HAVE OVERFLOWING LOVE

Accepting Love – Accepting God’s love for you is the first step. His love for you is purely unconditional (I John 4:10). C. S. Lewis said, “Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.”

God created you and is very pleased with his creation. God accepts you as you are. There’s no need for pretenses with him or anyone else. Be yourself. Bask in gratefulness for God’s great love for you.

Discovering Love -Loving God is the highest form of love. We discover how to love God with our every being: heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37). Fall in love with God. You fall in love with God just like you fall in love with anyone. Spend time with Him alone. Look for him in nature. Talk and listen to him through prayer. Learn more about Him through a study of the Holy Scriptures.

Sharing Love –The people dear to our hearts include our spouses, children, siblings, and parents. Included also are the others you choose to have close relationships with. Even when difficulties between you occur, you usually reconcile with the people you love.

Can you share more love with your family and friends? Yes. Sharing “overflowing love” to your loved ones is usually a matter of your becoming less self-involved (Romans 12:10). As we work through our own issues and faults, we become more accepting and less critical of our families and friends.

“Overflowing love” also requires finding out how your loved one needs to be loved. In what ways can you deny yourself to meet his or her needs?

Expanding Love – Some people are easy to love. Others are not. For whatever reasons, loving some individuals can be a challenge. I believe the closest relative to “love” is “forgiveness.”

For some of you, the difficult process of forgiving must happen first occur (Matthew 6:14-15). Then, your love can begin to overflow even into the lives of those who have hurt you. They may never be capable of returning your love. But after forgiveness, you will experience peace.

Finally, … “Every act of love is a work of peace no matter how small.”  Mother Theresa.