Love Dare

Matthew and I have been going through the Love Dare challenge along with many other couples from our church. Our marriage is not in trouble or anything, of course we have our 'hard times' but I have been really blessed to have such an amazing husband who has never called me a name or been outright disrespectful even when I have chosen to say things that cross the proverbial line, he holds his tongue. The Love Dare challenge includes little assignments for each day. These are not suppose to be done out of guilt, they are simple ways to demonstrate love for your spouse.

While I was in prayer this morning a thought entered my mind. What if there was a 'Love Dare' with God. The point to this whole Love Dare thing is really just to keep your spouse in the forefront of your mind, to think about them and demonstrate how you feel toward them. So lets be creative... what are ways we could, in the midst of our days, demonstrate our love for God?

Just to be clear, I am not talking about "works". Doing things because you have to is not a demonstration of love. On the other hand, there are times when doing something we don't want to do unlocks something with in and we find life and love there. Motive is the key in Love Dare. The principle is that in the beginning you may start out doing things simply to meet the requirements of the assignment but as time goes by you begin to feel differently, see things differently, look for the others point of view. Now translate those same concepts to our relationship with God. In the midst of demonstrating our love, our love grows. In the circumstances that we don't understand we will find patience and may even begin to see how God sees what is going on. It could take our relationship to new levels.

I am not sure what the 'dares' should look like. For me I think of what God says that He loves, what matters to him and will build my dares around that. God loves truth, he loves patience, he loves when we show kindness. He also loves acts of service, especially for the under-dog. Maybe i can show love to a stranger, buy a meal for someone downtown, hold the door for the lady with the walker. Not just doing these things as a nice gesture but as a demonstration of my Love for God. I love God... God loves you... therefore, in loving you I am loving God.