1 John 4.9: In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
1 John 4.16: So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4.19: We love because he first loved us.

John has a lot to say about love here. I would like to take this Valentine's Day to make some observations about John's view of true love. True love is founded in God's gift to humanity, his Son, Jesus Christ. True love is ours when we believe and accept that God loves us, abiding in him. True love is only possible because God loved us first. 

I want to focus in briefly on this third concept. The ONLY thing that makes it possible for us to demonstrate True Love to anyone, including God, our Children, our Spouses, our Family...anyone, is God's love for us. Hopefully we can remember that today as we consider how to love those around us. God loved us and sent his son, and we are able to respond to him in love through turning to him for love and acceptance, as well as loving those around us selflessly.
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Yesterday was my birthday! But much more important than that was what God impressed on me as we have had significant snowfall over the past week or so. I woke up and shoveled my driveway, before taking the morning to run errands with my wife and son. After lunch, we looked across the street at our neighbors. He just had knee surgery and she is going in today for eye surgery, so I went over and shoveled their driveway. When my wife came back from running one more errand, she told me there was an old man a couple houses down trying to shovel his driveway. I put on my boots and grabbed my shovel one more time, and was impacted by God through a man I had never met.
I asked him if I could help shovel his driveway and he said, "SHOVEL MY DRIVEWAY?!?!" He was floored, figuratively speaking of course. His level and enthusiasm in gratitude was astounding to me. He kept offering to pay me "whatever you want". I found out he is 80 years old and lives alone. He has an aneurism in his abdomen that could burst at any time. He lives 2 houses away and I had never even met him. As I finished his driveway, I offered him my phone number and asked him to call me if there was every anything he needed. I hope he calls.
You may have been distracted through this post wondering, "Who needs WHAT?" and the answer to that question is two-fold. First off, GRATITUDE. Everyone needs gratitude. Even if it is something that someone was expected to do, it is always beneficial to express gratitude. It encourages the one who is helping, and reminds you of what you have. Secondly, JESUS. Everyone needs Jesus. We find ourselves today with a unique opportunity to offer assistance to others around us for no other reason than, "Jesus loves me so I can love you." Take the opportunity.

Today, I finished preparing for the youth group lesson out of Philippians 3.12-16. Part of Paul's language here is indicative of a race, straining forward, looking to the future. As I processed Paul's commitment to furthering his own spiritual life, even though we might consider him one of the primary examples of how to live and act, I came to some questions that I think we should all consider:

1. Why can it be difficult to continue to strive to be better when you are already ‘pretty good’?
2. What are some problems with comparing ourselves to those running around us?
3. What are some problems with focusing on the past rather than the future?
4. What are some reasons people put more effort into things like sports, work, and fun than their Christian race?
5. As you evaluate your race, what is one area you can focus on?

It is always beneficial to take a little time and participate in some self-evaluation, using as our mirror God's written word.

As I read through John 11 today, I was struck by the effect of the intentionality of those involved in the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead.

- Mary and Martha send word to Jesus, intentionally pursing their Lord for help. Lazarus is ill and they know that Jesus is able to save him. (11.3)
- Jesus intentionally remains two days longer after receiving the news that Lazarus is ill. Lazarus is ill, but Jesus knows that his delay will ultimately lead to the benefit of all involved, through the demonstration of his power and glory. (11.6)
- The disciples are confused by the fact that Jesus intentionally sets out to return to Jerusalem, where the Jews are seeking to kill him. (11.8)
- Jesus intentionally explains that Lazarus has, in fact, died. Lazarus is not simply sleeping or unconscious and recovering, but he is gone. (11.14)
- Jesus intentionally prays out loud. He wants to make sure that the people around him know that it was God who sent him. (11.42)
- Some Jews intentionally take word to the Pharisees. (11.46)
- Knowing that Jesus has performed great signs and miracles, the Pharisees intentionally choose to maintain their place in the eyes of Rome rather than follow Jesus. (11.48)
- UNINTENTIONALLY, Caiaphas prophesies that Jesus would die as the savior of the world. (11.51-52)

What can you do today to be intentional about pursuing Jesus as your savior? Who do you have in your life that can help keep you from intentionally defying God's desires as the Pharisees did? As your life moves forward, are you going to be an example of a willing participant in God's plan like Mary, Martha, and the disciples, or are you going to be proven to be an ignorant participant in God's plan despite your own efforts?