Love People Day | JOY for Today

To love and be loved - a surefire recipe for JOY. It takes time, commitment, and effort, but the outcome is beyond worth it!

JOY for Today Offerings:

• Did You Know... Facts about love in the Bible.
• Wolfe Stew Connects To the difficulty with loving everyone, always.
• Bible Verses and Quotes About loving others.
• Activity Suggestions: Love notes; Love languages; Book list; Would you rather...?; Family challenge.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS: 

• World Communion Sunday (10/6/2024 - October's First Sunday)
• Inner Beauty Day (October 7th Annually)
• Columbus Day (10/14/2024 - October's Second Monday)

Did You Know:

1. There are seven words for love used in the Bible? The four Hebrew words for love from the Old Testament are: ahava/aheb (similar to our meaning of love; used 209 times), hesed (we translate as lovingkindness but more deeply denotes a covenantal love; used 247 times), racham (compassion, love between parent and child, infinite love; used 47 times), dod (commonly used to mean uncle, but frequently translated as "beloved" in the Bible; used 61 times - 44 as love or beloved and 17 as uncle). Of the four Greek words for love, only three are found in the New Testament: eros (romantic love, appears only in Greek translations of the Old Testament), phileo (friendly love; used 25 times), storge (familial love; used 3 times - twice negatively and once combined with phileo), and agape (unconditional, self-sacrificial love; used 143 times). (Bible Hub, FIRM Israel, Got Questions, and Bible Study Tools)
2. Love is mentioned 718 times in the Bible? In their original languages, the Old Testament mentions love 547 times, and the New Testament mentions love 171 times. Of the counts reported, the English translation that comes closest to this count is the New Living Translation at approximately 759 mentions. (Bible Hub, Bible Study Tools, and Christian Bible Reference)
3. Love is NOT one of the top five words used in the Bible? The top five frequently used words in the Bible are: Lord, God, man, Israel, and people. Love does, however, make the top 100 list. (Bible Study Tools)
4. It is in Sodom and Gomorrah that "love" is first mentioned? The word for love that first occurs is hesed, the Hebrew word commonly translated as "lovingkindness" or in this case "mercy". In Genesis 19:19 KJV, Lot says, "Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou has magnified thy mercy (hesed), which thou has shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die." This is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot, because of Abraham's intercession (Genesis 18:16-33; 19:29), is being rescued by two angels of the Lord. This is Lot's expression of thankfulness and fear, which then is followed by a request for compromise in verse 20. (Bible Hub)
5. Jesus is the first to use the word "love" in the New Testament? Agape, or unconditional, self-sacrificial love, is the first use of love in the New Testament. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:43-45 KJV (Bible Hub). 

We'd Love to Know:   

What is your favorite use of "love" in the Bible?

Wolfe Stew Connects

Most of us probably think loving people is a simply natural thing to do that requires no effort on our parts. Either we love someone, or we don't. And we can "love people" without ever interacting with the person we claim to love. But love is a choice that requires effort and commitment. As Christians, we are called to love everyone, always. Even the people who:

• Despitefully use and persecute you. 
• Struggle with honesty.
• Take joy in pointing out your flaws.
• Calculate their choices so they always benefit.
• Are easily offended.

When dealing with these types of interactions, I often feel like I have a right to my anger. I find myself abhorrent of their behavior or expectations while judging my own as completely justifiable and logical. If I am angry, I reason, clearly the other person is in the wrong and they need to fix it. I cross my arms, seethe, and wait while building my pile of stones to hurl at them (or to someone else about them) later.

While my anger does still get the better of me from time to time, Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst and Unoffendable by Brant Hansen, helped me see that in every conflict:

1. I am at least partially at fault. There is always something I could have done differently, whether it be in reaction, prevention, or boundary setting.
2. I am not entitled to anger. I don't get to judge who is right or wrong, that's God's job. The conflict is not against flesh and blood. My job is to pursue peace as long as it is possible.

Accepting that anger isn't the answer, that I can't force someone else to fix my emotions, and that I am still commanded to love even those who have wronged me, I suppose the question is: how? How do we love everyone, always? 

I don't know. 

But I am trying to:

1. Turn my anger into prayer. When anger arises toward a person, I am working at training myself to use that anger as a signal to pray. To turn the anger into a prayer. I give God my anger, I let out all the details of what is gnawing at me, I place it at His feet, and end by asking for a blessing for the other person. If a natural blessing doesn't arise, I borrow Brant Hansen's habit and use the Aaronic Blessing of Numbers 6:24-27 ESV: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
2. Start with the people closest to me. The people who are closest to me are often the easiest to overlook. I forget that this is my primary service field and minimize the contributions I make here. Instead of taking the people nearest me for granted, I'm trying to maximize my relationships with them by practicing loving them the best. And there's plenty of opportunity to practice turning my anger to prayer, finding ways to serve them with diligent willingness, and offering them my undivided attention - a top commodity - that is coupled with earnest encouragement. 
3. Invite others in. The simple fact is that I can't love others if I hide from them, as appealing as that might sound. To love people, I must be around people. So, I am working on inviting others in and accepting their invitations. As I do, I'm also inviting God to be a part of the relationship by praying that He blesses, grows, and guides the connection. I want His love, not my vain efforts, to do the work here. After all, it is His love that every one of us need.
4. Keep God as the focus. For every relationship, I pray. In every relationship, I want to share the goodness of God. To grow every relationship, I must follow His Word. If I'm going to truly love others, I must let God, who is love, in on the relationship - actually be central to it - or it won't endure. Remember, a three-stranded cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Unity between us in Him is Jesus' prayer. Let's work to accomplish His will.

I think the key to loving others well is in swallowing my pride. If Jesus can give up His throne to take on human flesh so He could die on a cross for the very people who put Him there, I think I can learn to release my anger, my fear, and my ambitions so God can love others through me.

I'm praying for you to learn to love people better, and I hope you're praying the same for me.

In response:

1. Choose one. One relationship to focus on or one strategy to focus on. Try it for a week. Journal your thoughts. What do you notice? What will you keep doing? What will you change?
2. Join us in our Isaiah study. In Isaiah 48, we witnessed God's restraint. He is merciful! This week, we see threads of plans God's put in place from the beginning of the world. Plans that include how much He loves and never forgets you. Should you forget, look at His hands.

Bible Verses and Quotes 

Bible Verses 

• "I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other." John 13:34-35 ERV
• "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
• Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 KJV
• Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. I John 4:7-8 KJV
• Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. I Peter 4:8 ESV

Quotes

• "It's easy to talk about how much you love God, but loving others reveals how much you truly do." - Elizabeth George
• "A man who loves others based solely on how they make him feel, or what they do for him, is really not loving others at all - but loving only himself." - Criss Jami
• "What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. - Saint Augustine
• "Love of others and love of ourselves are not alternatives. On the contrary, an attitude of love towards themselves will be found in all those who are capable of loving others." - Erich Fromm
• "Loving others always costs us something and requires effort. And you have to decide to do it on purpose. You can't wait for a feeling to motivate you." - Joyce Meyer

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote inspires you to love people better?

Activity Suggestions

Commit to loving people better.

Hide Love Notes

Make or print (from Healthy Happy Impactful) love notes for your kids. Leave them in their lunchbox. Put them under their pillows. Tape them to their mirrors. Leave little reminders everywhere that you love them. BONUS if you write a few for your spouse and/or coworkers too.

Use the Five Love Languages 

1. Brainstorm ways to show love in each of the five languages, described at 5LoveLanguages.com
2. Find out your love language. Take the Five Love Languages inventory.
1. For kids from WaldenGreen.org
2.  For adults at 5LoveLanguages.com)
3. Make lists of how to show love. 
1. Draw or craft a heart for each important person in your life.
2. Label each heart with the person's name, which love language they most prefer, and some ideas for how to show them love in that language.
3. Try out your ideas. 
4. Star the ideas that worked really well!

Book Suggestions

• PreK-1st: The Boy Who Loved Everyone by Jane Porter. Dimitri wants everyone to know he loves them but is confused when no one says it back. Slowly, starting with a man feeding cats in the park, he begins to see that people do say, "I love you", just in many different ways.
• 2nd-3rd: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson; illustrated by E.B. Lewis. Maya, a new girl at school, sits next to Chloe and keeps inviting Chloe to play. Chloe has no interest in befriending Maya; she already has friends and Maya seems odd. One day, Maya doesn't come to school and Chloe can't stop wondering what happened to her. "Each morning, I walked to school slowly, hoping this would be the day Maya returned and she'd look at me and smile. I promised myself this would be the day I smiled back." Encourage your learners to not wait to be kind with this book.
• 4th-6th: 
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Looks often affect our first impressions, and all too often distance us from making connections. August Pullman knows this truth all too well and constantly faces harsh judgment based on his appearance. Learn to love him and others in his story told from multiple perspectives.
• The Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt. Georgie Burgess knows abuse, neglect, and disdain. He knows how to hide, how to move so he goes unnoticed, and how to escape reality with the beauty of flowers. But Georgie doesn't know what it feels like to be loved or how to love others. As people enter his life who show him love, his circumstances change. Slowly, he learns to accept and return love - starting with the rose he won in a lottery. "'Sister, I wish - I hadn't ever hated her.'" Georgie said after the silence between them had lasted for many minutes."
• Adults: The Truth About Us by Brant Hansen. While this book is not directly about relationship-building, it does address the faults all of us have. When we can acknowledge that we all struggle, we open the door to showing compassion to others and to admitting that we also treat others poorly. The book begins: "Dear Everybody, We have a serious problem. All of us think we're good people. But Jesus says we're not."

Discuss "Would You Rather..." Questions

• Get hugs from people you love or spend extra time with them?
• Make food someone you love likes or do a chore for them?
• Choose to say something nice when someone is mean or share candy with someone who never shares with you?

If you would like three "Would You Rather...?" questions for every September day, download this Wolfe Stew PowerPoint or get it (for free!) at our TPT store.

Take on the Family Challenge

Every family member thinks and shares about one person who has been hurtful to them within the last week. Commit to praying daily for that person. After a week has passed, check back in and talk about your feelings toward that person and the situation now.

We'd Love to Know:

Your favorite thing you do to show others that you care.

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow. 

Your Partners in JOY Finding,

Sample these related posts:

Collect Rocks Day 

Identify yourself as a rock in God's collection and challenge yourself to see others the same. 

Love Conquers All Day

When you know God is love, you know love really does conquer all. 

World Communion Sunday

Read about Jesus' prayer for unity. 

World Kindness Day

Engage in a kindness competition! 

Valentine's Day

Decide with me: Should Valentine's Day only celebrate romantic love?

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.

Image credit: Happy brothers by Alisa Dyson at Pixabay