Love is who God is

“Wow, you have been busy,” stated the clerk at the local post office, as I set all my brown envelopes on the counter. 
“Yes I have,” I replied. “These are Valentines gifts for all my kids and grandkids. I guess, at some (point), I will have to make some changes as our family keeps growing. I have gone from getting valentines for three kids to five since I remarried, and now we have three grand babies,” I said as I smiled. 
Letting people know that they are loved is very important to me, and I not only want to be good at it, but want to become excellent at loving others. Every person has a need to be loved and valued. I enjoy putting deposits in the emotional banks of people God puts in my path. When I am gone from this earth, I want it to be said of me, “she loved very well.”
God is the best at loving us as it was His idea to begin with. I John 4:8 (NIV) says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.” 
Love is the essence of who God is. He absolutely adores each of us. He tells us that over and over in His word, but, more important, He has demonstrated love by sending His Son so we could have everlasting life and a new life, instead of a life full of sin, guilt and regret. 
It is our God-given privilege to go through life fully loved. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love and, with loving kindness, I have drawn you.” You are special, precious and loved. Do you know in your heart that you are incredibly loved?
How good are you at showing others that you love them? When I was younger, I did not often tell anyone that I loved them. In my early 30s, I discovered that the reason was because I was insecure in God’s love for me. Insecure people have a hard time letting others know they love them. I totally believed God loved other people, but, because of past hurts, I had walls around my heart that prevented me from receiving love, even His love. As I admitted this to myself and a few close friends and prayed, God graciously removed those walls. Since that time, the more I have opened my heart to God’s love, the better I feel I am at loving others.
When we love others, we prove our love for God. Some people are easy to love and others can really challenge us. What I have come to discover is that dealing with others gives us an opportunity to practice love. I have a phrase I often repeat to myself when dealing with difficult people and it is, “Kathleen, you have to love them.” We have all heard the saying, “practice makes perfect,” and I often think God allows situations in our lives to give us practice at loving like He does. One of my life sayings is, “I am what I love, not what loves me.” This keeps me grounded in difficult situations.
I John 4:12 instructs us in love by saying “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but, if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us.” 
Let me encourage you to begin the day receiving God’s love for you. Verbally tell God you love Him and that you open your heart to His love. Ask Him to help you love others well. The Texas Hill Country is full of people needing to hear and be shown that they are genuinely loved for who they are, not what they do. Ask God to let you be His gift to those around you. He is looking for people to be His hands and feet every day. And always remember, love wins and never fails.


Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie is a native to the Texas Hill Country, a writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth and God’s love, You can reach her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com or visit her blog at www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com.

Resting in God's love and on His shoulders

Resting in God's love and on His shoulders

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

copyright 2016

You are never a failure unless you fail to see God’s love for you.   Living in the Bible Belt, we frequently hear “God loves you.”  I encounter many people, that don’t  live like they believe it. I must confess I’ve lived most of my life as a Christian and did not really believe in my heart the fact that God really loved me dearly.

 I will never forget the evening about twenty years ago, my late husband and I finished leading a bible study on trusting God. In our study that statement was made that a person could not really trust God fully if they did not really believe He loved them.  I broke down and confessed to my husband and another couple, that I struggled with trusting God and really believing He loved me. I had plenty of head knowledge but needed that moved to my heart.  It was a humbling moment for me as a Bible study teacher to confess that but it was true. My problem was that I looked at my circumstances and things I had been through and had doubted God’s love. My confession and honesty opened the door for God to erase those doubts forever.

I asked God for a revelation of His love.  In His kindness, God began to open my eyes to His love for me step by step. I know He loved the day I offered up that prayer and my journey began in experiencing God’s love.

 In February of that year, I was coaching gymnastics and one of my students brought me a valentine that had a scripture on it.  I knew God was speaking through that little girl’s gift.  The scripture was  Jeremiah 31:3 which says, “I have love you with an everlasting love.  I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”   It quickly became a treasured scripture because it  is a constant reminder that God’s love is unending for me.  His love will never cease. Everlasting means now and always.  I also love it because it also shows me that God tenderly is drawing me to himself.  His kindness is birthed out of a heart of love for me.

Not long after, God took me to a scripture found in Deuteronomy 33:12.  It says, “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” I remember when I was little and sat on my dad’s shoulders. I felt on top of the world because I was suddenly bigger than everything. I felt special. Things that once looked big to me suddenly were not that big. When we have an understanding that God really loves us and is for us, we can rest in the middle of any storm in life. It is easy to focus on the storm or the problem but when I focus on the fact that I am dearly loved, His beloved, His love acts as my life jacket. It helps me ride the waves.  God’s heart is for His kids to rest and know they are loved.  When we climb up on His shoulders, resting in His love, then we can see our lives from His perspective.  God’s viewpoint is always better than mine.  He issues us an invitation to rest and come up higher.  

Taylor and his brother

About 10 years ago, I was taking my nephew, Taylor, out for a special fun day. My sister and her husband waited a long time for Taylor and he was not only very special to them but to me. He is a child that wakes up each day full of energy and excitement. Each day he is ready to enjoy and conquer life. 
Taylor was in the back seat of the jeep and was singing and enjoying his day with Aunt Kathleen. As we drove, I felt the Holy Spirit invade the jeep and I began to weep. I felt God speak that Taylor was free to enjoy each day because he knew he was dearly loved by his parents as well as me. Taylor knows we will take care of everything that concerns him, protect him and he knows that we enjoy him as a person. Then I felt God say, “Kathleen, I want you to live as My much loved child.” I have felt so much more freedom from stress and anxiety as I have been learning to live as a much loved child. When we really believe God is a loving father and will take care of everything that concerns us, we are free to enjoy every situation we encounter. I am learning that when I am stressed or anxious, I just need a greater revelation of His love for me.

 I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Who am I? I am a much loved child of God. Who are you? YOU ARE A MUCH LOVED AND WANTED CHILD of God and you are never a failure unless you fail to see God’s love for you.

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie is a native to the Texas Hill Country, a writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth and God’s love, You can reach her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com or visit her blog at www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com