Loving Like Christ.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone has made their resolutions and are taking strides to make their resolutions a reality. 2019 was not necessarily my favorite year, so I have several resolutions that I am working on in order to make 2020 the best year yet. One of these resolutions is to love people even bigger and harder than I already do, because even when it seems like it’s not being reciprocated, it’s exactly what Jesus would do. He would love first.

For the past two and a half years, I have been a proud member of a Greek club on my campus, Sigma Nu Sigma. Our club’s motto is founded upon 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter of love. For so long I thought that love was a completely different idea than how I see love now. When I think of love, I put my name in the place of “love” when reciting 1 Corinthians 13, as a way to remind myself of how I should love. I may not be the most patient person, and I am sometimes easily angered. Heck, if someone told me five years ago that love keeps no record of wrongs, I would laugh straight in your face. Since joining this club, I have come to see what true love looks like - the face of Jesus. We should act and react in love like Jesus does. Even though my club consists of 60+ girls between the ages of 18-22, we are bound to sin, just like any human is expected to. However, I have learned that loving like Christ looks like showing forgiveness and grace towards others and ourselves. Loving like Christ means acknowledging one's sin, yet still welcoming us in with open arms, regardless of the severity of our mistakes. Loving like Christ looks like making sacrifices for the people you love. After all, the biggest sacrifice that has ever been made was when Christ hung on a cross because he loved us so much that He became sin for us.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:11-12

Being the low-key nerd that I am, I am super invested in all things Enneagram and Love languages. In my personal opinion, in order to strengthen a relationship, whether it be with a best friend or a significant other, you should know each other’s love languages. More importantly, you should BE those love languages for them. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the five love languages are Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Gifts, & Acts of Service. Feel free to take the quiz after reading this blog, I’ll add the link below!) My roommate and I have been living together for three years and I think one of the biggest reasons our relationship is so great is because we understand what the other person needs in order to feel loved. My top love language is quality time, and Katelyn’s is acts of service. Katelyn fulfills my needs by spending one-on-one time with me, whether it be baking cookies with me, grabbing Cookout at midnight, or just comes into my room to see how my day has been. I fulfill Kate’s needs through baking her cookies, taking the trash out, and when I put her dishes in the dishwasher for her. This goes to show that love looks different for so many people, which is why it’s so important that we learn about each other. I have been let down so many times when people don’t show me love in the ways I feel love, and I forget that they show love differently than I do, but that doesn’t mean they love me any less.

By becoming the five love languages for the people we love, in a way we are loving like Christ. We are putting others’ needs above our own in order to ensure that His people see Him through the ways we love. Here are some ways you can show the love of Jesus through each love language:

1. Quality time - spend time with someone you love, and get to know their heart. That heart was especially created by Jesus for people to adore, to protect, and to fight for. Make time to learn what makes them shine, what makes them tick, what their passions are, why they’re passionate about it, etc. Taking time out of your day to spend with someone you care about will go further than you think.
2. Physical touch - give a hug to someone who may be struggling and could really benefit from one. Grab the hands or shoulder of your loved ones and pray over them… speaking of, this leads to our next love language.
3. Words of affirmation - speak truth into the atmosphere -- God’s truth particularly. Recite scripture when you or someone you love is struggling. Our words fail, but His do not. Pray over your people.
4. Acts of service - If you and your friends are grabbing coffee or a bite to eat, take up their plates/drinks for them. Also, go and serve the community. Take up community service - and do it without the intention of earning service hours. Do it out of the calling that Christ has bestowed upon you.
5. Gifts - It can be as simple as buying their coffee or food. OR “I got you something that made me think of you.” Jesus knows every desire in our hearts and when we remember the important things about His people, it will be acknowledged as thoughtful and considerate.

It may not be the easiest concept to grasp, but just the simplest gesture can go so far. I encourage you today to get out of your comfort zone and find ways to show someone how much you love them through their love language. The thought that is put into it will mean so much, whether you realize it or not. Make sure you are showing the love of Jesus through your words and actions. :)

https://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/singles/