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Keys to Discipleship Part 1: Share Love

Friday, October 18, 2024

The KidzMatter Blog/Keys to Discipleship Part 1: Share Love

The Hebrew word for sacrificial, unconditional love is Ahava. This word describes God’s love for us, and because He is love, that should set the tone for how we love others. Loving others is essential to creating disciples. However, before we can share love, we have to understand and receive it.

Understand Love

Before we use Ahava to create disciples, we need to understand what love truly is. Love is allowing the Lord to live in and through us. In all we do and say, our hearts and minds must be fixed on Jesus. It’s Jesus—His sacrificial, unconditional love for sinners—that shows us how to love at all. Love is receiving God’s gift of forgiveness through His Son. It’s following Jesus in His example of selfless sacrifice. As we look at how to receive and share love, we will understand more of what Ahava is and is not.

Receive Love

We must begin by receiving the Holy Spirit because it’s through Him that we bear the fruit of the spirit—one of which is love. By receiving the Spirit, allowing Him to guide our decisions, we connect to God. It’s more than simply receiving the Spirit; it requires effort and obedience. We need to plug ourselves into Jesus everyday—soak in God’s Word, pray in the Spirit, and walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

Receiving God’s love isn’t meant to make us the center of attention. We live in a culture obsessed with self—through selfies, social media, indulgent products, and “you-deserve-it” messages. This mindset can easily pull us away from the narrow path. Ahava love is sacrificial—not self-seeking. Whether volunteering, donating, voting, working, interacting with others, or parenting our children, we should be patient, kind, and humble. This doesn’t mean we should neglect ourselves or tolerate abuse, as we are God’s temple—and nurturing that temple is both allowed and encouraged. However, the world insists that if our cup feels half-empty, the solution is to disconnect from marriage, parenting, or work to focus solely on personal happiness. But true fulfillment doesn’t come from scrambling to put ourselves first. The compromises we make by buying into “self-love” culture break down relationships instead of building them.

Share Love

Building relationships is essential for discipleship. Since Ahava love involves sacrifice, we should also embrace sacrifice in our relationships—willingly giving of ourselves for the benefit of our marriage, family, and friendships. Ahava sacrificing also pushes us to be good stewards of our time, resources, and spiritual gifts. When we remember the completely sacrificial way God loves us and remember that we’re made in His image, we can be ready to give in the same way when it’s our turn.

Sharing love with others also means sharing truth. Scripture reminds us that love doesn’t delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Truth isn’t something that comes in many versions for many people. Jesus is truth. When we stand firm in God’s truth, even when we’re afraid we may lose someone, we can choose the complete joy, peace, and hope that comes from going all-in for Jesus—no matter the outcome. When we allow Jesus into every crack of our heart and let Him lead us in every decision, we can be sure we’re speaking truth and spreading love at the same time because love rejoices in the truth. These two must go hand-in-hand.

Often there's a pressure to fit in and not draw attention to ourselves or our beliefs. But we’re meant to feel out of place, because God tells us we’re set apart—meant to live differently. We are called to love and engage with unbelievers, showing them Jesus and sharing His truth, but we must ensure our interactions uplift them without compromising the truth. It can be hard to stand firm on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and not always be on defense for God. God doesn’t need us to defend Him. We should simply be mindful of our time, influences, and decisions. Sharing love alongside truth involves making the kinds of sacrifices that make us look like foreigners to the world. We should look, sound—and love—differently!

Love is powerful. It’s the key that unlocks who God is, why Jesus came, and what we’re called to do. Love is how people see Jesus, as we shine our Ahava light into the darkness. Loving others can be hard and messy, but we should start now by forgiving and loving as we have received Ahava love for ourselves through Christ. When we share that kind of love with others, we are pointing back to the original source of love—which is God! God is unchanging and eternal, which means that love remains constant. No matter what the world tells us, we are warriors who fight with arrows of love to pierce the hearts of those so desperately searching for what is real and true. God is real love and truth, and He lasts forever.

Samantha Moser is a disciple of Jesus who has served in various ministries, often simultaneously, over the last 12 years, most consistently in KidMin. She and her husband, Dallas, homeschool their four children with an emphasis on biblical foundations, world history, and life skills. The couple volunteers as Sunday School teachers for nursery through kindergarten, and Samantha has been a leader in various areas and ages within KidMin for the last six years. This year, she served as VBS director for the first time and can now say she has done every role within VBS. Samantha believes having two sons and two daughters gives her a thorough perspective on what boys and girls are facing today. The Moser family is passionate about serving Jesus and filling needs in all areas of their lives. When they aren’t at church, they enjoy camping and managing their cat, two dogs, and nine chickens.

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