I was making this video of our weekend celebration for Caden and wondering what to write in the caption. Then I got this beautiful text from my friend Jennifer Gabriel Barbaro ❤️🙏
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What does love really look like?

It’s easy to feel bombarded with information about what it means to love and to be loved. But the template for true love isn’t found in cultural trends, it was given to us by the God who represents the concept itself. 

His love is different from any other kind of love. In fact, the Bible says that God is love.

God sent His only Son to die for the sins of every person. There was only one reason for God to experience that kind of heartache: His love for us.

God didn’t need us, but He wanted us. His love is unconditional, sacrificial, everlasting, and for everyone. When we accept God’s love for us, we can then love Him in return and let Him change the way we see ourselves. And when we learn to see ourselves through the lens of God’s love, we start to love others like God loves us. 

Jesus modeled what God’s love looked like when He gave up His life for us. We didn’t deserve or earn it—but that didn’t stop Him from going to the cross on our behalf.

We become His friends when we accept His sacrifice and receive His forgiveness. But Jesus says we will truly know that we are His friends if we do what He asks of us (John 15:14). And this is what Jesus asks of us…

“Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:12-13 NLT

If we love Jesus, then we are His friends. But if we are His friends, then we will care about what He cares about. And He cared so much about us that He gave up His rights, authority, and life so that anyone could experience God’s eternal love. Jesus will call us His friends if we are willing to do the same thing.

So what would laying down your life for a friend look like? Maybe this means giving up your plans for a day in order to serve someone. It could look like preserving a relationship by intentionally giving up an argument. Or maybe it means sacrificing your time, energy, or self-image in order to come alongside someone who is hurting.

God’s love in action is selfless because it causes us to think about ourselves less. So today, ask God to show you how you can love others like He has sacrificially loved you.❤️
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Thank you to all my friends who sacrificed their weekend to celebrate Caden and our home finally being complete. Who then came over the next day and grilled, played with my kids and cleaned up because I was exhausted.

Thank you to my family for always being there for me and my kids. My brother for taking such great care of our parents so I can take care of their grandkids.

And thank you to Tate for showing Caden what true friendship and brotherhood looks like. As Caden goes off to college, I am grateful that he will always know where his True North is, not just in his family and faith, but also in friendship.