Do you allow others to love you?
Before you answer to quickly, think about it as I ask you a few questions.
When someone tries to do something nice for you do you receive it or push it away by saying, “Oh, you don’t have to do that.” or “I can do it.”?
When someone compliments you do you receive it or refuse it?
When someone you’ve wanted love from for a long time, like a spouse or parent, etc., begins to do something nice for you do you receive it, or do you feel suspicious or angry and bark at them and push them away?
Do you feel guilty when something nice or good happens to you, or is offered to you?
The thing I’ve observed in others, and have been convicted of in myself, is that often we push away the love we say we desire.
Let that sit on your heart for a minute.
Think about it and be honest…don’t just jump to denial.
Is this true?
Are you able to receive love from others? And let me ask another question. If you struggle to receive love from people, how do you think you are able to truly receive it from God?
I know plenty of people who say, I know God loves me. Or of course I can receive God’s love, I just don’t trust other people.
That’s a lie.
If we are unable to receive love from others, then we undoubtedly have hindrances within us from receiving the fullness of God’s love for us.
It’s just a fact.
It’s in knowing and acknowledging God’s all sufficient love for us that we become capable of receiving love from others.
If you’re internally arguing with me over this…think about it a minute longer.
I cannot tell you how often I’ve heard an obviously fearful and bitter person tell me that they trust God and know He loves them. That doesn’t make sense. It’s upon the foundation of His love that we build trust and forgiveness…and those things result in the ability to give and receive love to others.
Does this make sense?
You can’t give what you don’t have.
We don’t need to trust others to receive their love…we only need to trust God…and humble ourselves.
And suddenly we’ve landed on the biggest problem in all of this…pride.
It’s our pride that stands between us and receiving from others. It’s a false humility that cannot take a compliment. It’s a stark pride that won’t take gifts and kind gestures from others. It’s false martyrdom to stand in opposition to receiving good things because you “don’t need them.”
We must wake up!
Wake up and receive the fullness and the goodness of God as He uses other people to distribute it to us.
Won’t you try to grow in this today? I’ll be trying to grow in it right alongside you.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so, we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 1 John 4:16-17
365 Days in the Presence 