Some joke and actually might think their lives would be better if it weren’t for the people in it! Well, some people can make life challenging, for sure. But, on balance, our family members, friends, and colleagues all add to an interesting and meaningful life. We need people to love, and we need to be loved. Feelings of loneliness are harder on us than learning how to get along with people. Just ask someone who is lonely.
Real love involves sacrifice. Our Heavenly Father is our example on this one: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” This well-known verse in the Gospel of John makes it clear that genuine love and sacrifice are inseparable. God loves us. God sacrificed His Son because He loves. Jesus died on the cross so that we could have a relationship with Him and our Heavenly Father. The cross was relationship driven. It was also sacrificial love. The pattern for healthy and strong relationships has been forever settled. When we love sacrificially, we strengthen our relationships with others. We could even claim that real love is absent without sacrifice somewhere in the mix.
Joseph C. Hutchison
Excerpt from my new book:
Nine Fruits of the Vine and Five Little Foxes
Short Christian Essays that Feed the Soul
Purchase Here
