today i have had the opportunity to “counsel” with several people from all different walks of life, backgrounds, situations, ages, etc. these people i’ve talked with don’t have hardly a thing in common… except they are all guys. but these guys were all in tough situations and every situation needed some love poured into it.

john 13:34-35 is pretty clear… So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

i mean we all have our days but man people shouldn’t constantly leave you with a feel like… “they are a jerk.” the word love in verses 34 and 35 are slightly different in their meanings… they both stem from the word agape but the “love” in verse 35 actually points to a “feast of love.”

now i LOVE (no pun intended… kinda) food and the best picture of a feast i have is thanksgiving. there’s always tons of food… this year we spent thanksgiving with about 50 or so members of my family in north florida and trust me everyone ate until we could eat no more. and guess what we still had leftovers for several days that we ate from.

that’s how our lives should be. that’s when the world will know we are truly His. that’s when people see the difference. when His love flows out of us to where people can come and eat until they are full and there are left overs still to be had. i think if the we as the church learn to do that we couldn’t have enough services, we could build big enough buildings, we couldn’t make enough small groups… so let’s open up the table, bless the food, and welcome all who will come and the only thing on our menu is LOVE!

if you have a minute check out this video from kari jobe… she’s got a really cool worship record coming out this tuesday. and the video features people making it through tough situations undoubtedly because of LOVE.