“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:7

Love needs to be priority one in our lives if we really are to live like Jesus. That’s the message I have been hearing at church in our new series on Love.  What does God want from us? Our love; to love Him and to love each other. It’s more than a feeling, it’s a choice to live in love and we really can’t do that completely unless we invite Jesus into our hearts and start living by the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Humans are blessed with many gifts and we can do many good things, but without love it is: “ineffective, incomplete, insufficient, insignificant, and inadequate.”  What good does it do to have vast knowledge of the Word without love? In Jesus day you could be described as a Pharisee; exploiting knowledge of scripture and creating laws to harm and control people—not much love going on there. Jesus pointed out to them over and over again the missing link in their religion—Love has to be the highest priority. In Celebrate Recovery, we rely on God to move us out of our dysfunctions and into His love, one step at a time. Many of us may not be scripture giants, but what we understand is the action part of what Jesus teaches. We share our experience strength and hope with others, our love has feet and we learn to be a living Bible to others. For many, we may be the only Bible they have seen, actions can speak louder than words. Jesus brings about amazing transformation; from “it’s all about me” to “it’s all about loving you.” There’s one lesson I have learned over the years that has kept me focused on love instead of getting confused about why people do what they do and why they hurt each other: “Love the sinner not the sin.”  When you start living out of love instead of fear, you are walking with Jesus. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 God loves you; Jesus died for you; His spirit lives in you! Say Yes to Jesus! Dana Cramer // Celebrate Recovery at Crossroads