The tragedy of a loveless life

The news media blasted us with the story of the death of Anna Nicole Smith, who achieved notoriety for taking off her clothes for Playboy magazine, making a joke of herself on 'reality TV,' and marrying a billionaire who was 60 years older than she was. She died in a hotel room in Florida at age 39. Speculation is that abuse of drugs and alcohol were the cause of her death. But, I believe that there is a cause for her death that will not show up in the coroner's investigation. She really perished from a lack of genuine love! This woman who managed to attract so much attention was lonely and insecure, estranged from many people including her family. Money, celebrity, and attention could not fill the need for authentic love - love of family and God. She destroyed herself by looking for love in all the wrong places. It makes me wonder what happened to her when she was very young - if someone missed the opportunity to show her genuine love?


Tony Wood, a friend and a man who does ministry in prisons, is a 'Dad' to a hundred young men who are in lock-ups. Young tough guys hug him and send him cards and letters. Why? Many of them have lived most of their young lives with a famine of love. Then along comes Tony showing them genuine loving concern, treating them like sons. He does it without any selfish interest on his part and not because he's paid to be concerned. They begin to feel human again, as God intended. The power of love never ceases to amaze me. I see it everywhere I go, wherever I have the opportunity to interact with people. When I show even the smallest amount of interest and concern for another person, there is almost always a positive response.


Bringing love to our world is what Christ's followers are commissioned to do. It's not that we send everybody a Valentine Day card! It's not about giving a box of chocolates! We love in ways that declare to everyone - the broken as well as the whole, the unattractive as well as the beautiful, the powerless as well as the powerful - "You are a person of dignity and worth!" Whenever and wherever Believers have found ways to do that, they have made the world a better place, and glorified God. But wherever and whenever they start to judge and condemn others they go 'off purpose.'


Here's how Jesus said it. "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." (John 15:9-13, NLT) Read it again!


Deception is all around us, a lie that says that we can be full of joy and live a rich life if we selfishly serve our own needs. "Take what is yours. Push your way to the head of the line. Don't let anyone steal your credit. Hoard your wealth. Feed your needs." These messages are pounded into us, day after day, but they are simply wrong. Here's the truth - Let God love you, and then forget yourself. Give your life away and you'll find it again- but in a whole and wonderful way.


This love life principle is so basic I feel silly sending out this TFTD. Why state the obvious? Because we forget. Even among the Christians that I work with everyday, I see men and women who forget that they are loved and that they are called by God to be lovers! They get all caught up in promotions, recognition - trying to make sure that they get their whole slice of the pie, so to speak. So, I am reminding us today, of what we already know. Go love somebody. Just as the Father has loved you, deeply and restoratively, love others. You just might save someone's life! Really!

______________________
"What marvelous love the Father has extended to us!
Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are.
But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to." (1 John 3:1, The Message)

"For this is the original message we heard:
We should love each other. We must not be like Cain, who joined the Evil One and then killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because he was deep in the practice of evil, while the acts of his brother were righteous. So don’t be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.

The way we know we’ve been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn’t love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don’t go together. This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves."
(1 John 3:11-16, The Message)