Surfing Along the Brain Wave of Tiffany Carter…

“Which is harder, a hello for the first time or the final goodbye?

One is the beginning of something new and exciting while the other is tossing away all of what was once exhilarating and wonderful. Isn’t all that you have started here on earth going to come to an end? So when we begin something with a hello, it must be invested in what is eternal: Love. Love doesn’t have an ending or a goodbye, and it carries us on into eternity with the One, who first demonstrated it’s definition, by giving each of us our very own unique and breathtaking hello, and an oppurtunity to never say goodbye.”

“We must put all we’ve got into a moment, but we musn’t live FOR a moment.  A moment is something which is quickly passed and forgotten, and to live for this is absurd.  If you bestow what you have in all that is temporary, you yourself will pass through life like the scent of a rich perfume, which for a small amount of time you are admired for what you leave lingering in the air, but are sooner or later forgotten when the wind blows.  So, each person must see all that lasts longer than one moment, or even a couple of moments.  So with the little amount of time we have, our moments should be presented as a gift to the One who lasts longer than a moment.  The only One who defeats time and all that is fading like a dim light.  And we too have this oppurtunity, to be an everlasting moment.  It’s our decision to trust in a light that is unseen by the human eye and can only be obtained and understood throught wisdom.”

“Everyone knows there is a God and life has more meaning than a man-made science.  But we have come to the point where we are all so completely stubborn-minded, corrupt, angry, and selfish that we’d rather make our own beginning and end and spread our lack of knowledge to others in order to appear as if we have the largest amount of it. 

But knowledge isn’t going to get you anywhere.  It’s wisdom that lasts.  Wisdom is knowing you don’t know everything, admitting it, and understanding that the knowledge of men cannot create what God has created.  In their attempts to create they only destroy and corrupt what surrounds them.  We can only truly create with what has already been created and given to us.  The best thing we’ve been given to create with is love.  Things that are created in love are never forgotten.  We need to trust in Jesus Christ.  Because through his ultimate sacrifice we receive God’s love and are able to never be forgotten, when life moves on.”

“Love never introduces a goodbye, only eternal beginnings.”

“Charlie Chaplin introduced some things to the world which should have remained important but we lost sight of as our new world of ‘communication’ continues to grow.  Silence.  There’s something very beautiful about silence that we’ll never truly appreciate.  Nature has it’s own song to sing but we’re too busy singing our own.  The best of things come into our lives quietly.  The silent roar of an ocean as it collides against rocks, that perfect fall breeze that glides past your face, an undeserved smile from a person who cares, the appreciative tear after an unimaginable experience, the forming of a child in the mother’s womb, and most of all: love.  Love without words is the best way a person can experience it.  A picture may speak a thousand words to your inmost thoughts, but love speaks eternally and deep into your soul.  But so often do we forget that love comes by in such a quiet way that we don’t understand that it’s constantly surrounding us.  We get caught up in singing our own song and tapping our foot to a new beat that we leave many real and wonderfully genuine things behind.  Silence is neccesary for happiness.  We must listen to everything and everyone who surrounds us if we ever want to learn something we will always remember.  We must listen to our heart beat and to the One who made it beat in the first place.  The small drum that lives within our body is what keeps us alive.  It doesn’t need to be loud to be noticed, just a soft thump, thump thump, thump, thump thump.  It’s as if it were someone knocking, waiting for us to open our hearts and let whoever is knocking reign in us.” 

“We’re all puzzle pieces looking for our other piece and yes, that other piece is out there. But there’s a piece that fits in the middle of the two for the puzzle to fit together perfectly. Jesus Christ died for us as the ultimate love offering and becomes that puzzle piece… making what was once broken, whole. Ultimately we just have to realize who makes the ultimate puzzle and who we want to put that puzzle together. God or us? We can try to do it on our own but wouldn’t anyone want their puzzle to be made through the perfection of God? It’s up to each and every one of us to decide that…”

 

“A fire started by man sooner or later dies or is put out, but a fire started by God in a man’s heart cannot be tamed.  Gallons and gallons of water can never kill a person’s passion for life, it only makes the fire grow and expand. ”

Alcohol: Why are so many young adults drinking it? (From a college student who cares)

I’m sick of watching high school students and college students wasting their time living their lives for other people.  Going to parties where drinking has become the main social activity is just another way of young people proving to society that they’re following others and they don’t know how to make their own decisions.  I don’t want to see any more of my friends follow the same path society is taking.  It might not seem like that big of a deal, but our generation needs to learn to think for themselves!  Take your eyes off the television screen, the computer screen, and the “popular crowd” long enough to see that life has more meaning!!

This is kind of a wake up call to all my friends and family and to YOU.  Dependence on alcohol is a social problem today and people need to realize the consequences this will have on their lives and others’ lives. This is because I care…

So why do YOU drink alcohol?  “Because it’s fun” isn’t a real answer.

 Let’s face it.  Excessive drinking of alcohol is a problem among young adults today, and the reasons young adults have for drinking alcohol are only temporary feelings… So, Why do high school students and college students insist on drinking excessive amounts of alcohol?

1. Curiosity

Celebrities and people we see on television look so cool when they’re drinking.  But seriously, which of those people are truly happy with where they are in life? Actresses and singers, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, and so one are so screwed up socially, they’re the last people on earth you should want to end up like!  Overall, what are celebrities accomplishing besides offering entertainment?  Yes, Angelina Jolie has helped with organizations around the world but is she really someone we should be looking up to for wisdom on personal issues?  Do they REALLY seem happy? If they did seem happy and actually knew what real love was, we probably wouldn’t have so much gossip about them!

2. To Feel Good, Relax, Reduce Stress

Notice the repetitive use of the word temporary.  The good feeling you’re receiving from alcohol is temporary.  That good feeling fades away and after excessive drinking that good feeling you started out with becomes a hangover. Relying on a substance to control your stress or using it to relax is definitely the wrong way to go.  Using substances to relax will only lead to addiction and overuse.  And is an unsafe unawareness of where you’ll be in the morning, or what will happen to you the next day something you want to deal with?  Okay, no one wants to hear about health risks, but maybe it’s time we realize that drinking isn’t going to help our lives or our lasting friendships.  When you go to a party you may have an instant social network, but are these really the kind of people you want to be friends with? Trust me, there are people out there that will care about you so worrying about being lonely shouldn’t be an issue.  If substances are the only thing you have to relax or control your stress, my friend, you have so much more to live for.  God’s out there and once you to learn to rest in Him, you’ll find an indescribable feeling that can’t be replaced by any earthly substances like alcohol (feel free to continue on and read my other blog entries if this is something you want to know more about). 

3. To Fit In

The way I see it, most young adults who are drinking alcohol do so because they think they’ll be accepted socially.  Society tells teenagers at an early age they will gain popularity if they start drinking while they’re young.  And in a way, this is true.  The ones who have access to alcohol get the attention they set out to look for.  The ones who drink excessively appear to be cool, but why?  Why is using a substance to fit in a popular idea?  But this fitting in is another temporary good feeling.  No one is thinking of the insanity of the situation or the later consequences that will occur.  They seem to gain friends and more people to be with, people who will accept them.  Another thing you gain socially with fitting in though is this lovely thing everyone knows about: peer pressure.  Along with those other people who appear to be your friends at first glance comes a constant pressure for you to be someone you aren’t.  You’re being influenced to temporarily become a different person, someone controlled by substance.  People that encourage you to drink alcohol aren’t good friends.  They’re fakes.  Everyone today is trying to be like someone else.  No one is taking the time to understand who they really are and they aren’t very interested in getting to know you either.  Good friends don’t need alcohol or any other substance to have a good time or get to know you.  A common problem with young people today has been the same problem for a long time… They’re seeking to please other people.

4. To Feel Older

You don’t have to suddenly act mature, just start thinking about what you’ll be doing five years from now.  Don’t do something you’ll regret.  It’s okay to set goals and have dreams about your future, just make sure you know who you want to live your life for.  Those who really care about you want you to get the most out of life, not watch you waste it.

So let’s think about this…

Your life has a purpose.  A better, genuine, and fun purpose.  You are a unique person, no one was made EXACTLY like you.  There are many talents you have and things you enjoy that are a lot more fun than drinking.  Sure, drinking gets you that temporary attention and friends but what comes after that?  What else do you gain?

God loves you and HE gave you life.  Don’t waste a precious gift, given to you from your creator.  So, I leave you with this: what in life REALLY makes you happy?  How do you define real love?

Socially we need to change.  We need people in our generation who care about their own lives and others around them enough to realize there is more to life than pleasing others!  True love and happiness come from much greater tings, and how much greater would the world be if we all spent our time focusing on these things, rather than wasting their time… getting wasted.  Begin thinking of all the things you can be doing with your life instead of spending your social time drinking.  I’m calling you to do something more with your life, now it’s up to you to do something about it!

PROOF that God EXISTS (and Answers Prayer)

I never grew up in an extremely religious family or restricted myself from enjoying life.  I had the same doubts and thoughts about God and religion that everyone else did.  I didn’t want much to do with religion because it seemed to suck all the fun out of life and I didn’t want my friends to think I was weird or boring.  But I did occasionally ask myself the questions, “Is there a God? Does He exist and if so, where is He?”  I did attend church with my family and went to some youth functions there to hang out with friends, but I never wanted to get into anything there, for fear of being judged or confronted. I do remember one youth event though with the high school group and it was very powerful and moving. This gave me a new perspective and made me want to look into Christianity a little more, but I kept my distance and sat in the back when I attended church, in order to analyze what they were saying.

I became specifically interested in a ‘Bible Study’ that occured on Monday nights just because I wasn’t sure if I agreed with the Bible, but at the same time it seemed to have a lot of awesome things to say that seemed to apply directly to my life.  One Monday night (May 22, 2006) the group did something very interesting.  The leader took the group of us over to the Sacramento River levee and was very straight-forward when he said, “If you guys have any problems with God, anything that’s distracting you from knowing Him, now is the time to get it out.  If you want something, ask Him for it.  If you’re lacking faith, figure it out.  Pick a spot along the levee, look at God’s creations and just hang out with Him.  Talk to Him about anything you want and see what He has to say.”  I was a little surprised and slightly uncomfortable when He said this because I had learned about God and had tried to pray before, but I’d never really tried in expectations of getting a reply.  I was scared of really praying because I was scared of not getting a response.  But I tried it out.

Actually, I first wandered along the railroad tracks (Yeah, this levee has old railroad tracks that go across the top) throwing rocks at my friends.  But after noticing that they didn’t want to play along I took my Bible and found a cozy spot to sit and throw rocks into the river.  I was sittin’ there, trying to think of ways to get attention from people around me, when I started to think back on the words the youth leader was saying.  “If God is there, why can’t I see Him?” I asked myself.  I looked around at the nature around me and thought, “There’s got to be a God… someone who created all of the intricate detail in trees, the sky, the river, and me…I think.” 

At this point, I really wanted to test my theory.  If God is there, then everything must have a “divine plan”… right?  So, I took out my Bible and started thumbing through the pages and praying at the same time.  I was praying to whoever was out there listening, if there was someone.  “God, if you exist, do you think that you could show me a miracle?  Just so I can be sure?  I don’t want you to talk, I want to SEE something.  Something that proves to me that you’re there and you LOVE.”  And since my mind wanders easily, try to picture me talking, thumbing through my Bible, and at the same time taking breaks to look around me picking out what kind of miracle I’d want.  Now, if you knew me you’d know that I LOVE hearts.  If I had a pencil in my hand I was either doodling stick people of hearts.  I remember liking hearts after watching a girl in my class draw them around her name and decided I wanted hearts on EVERYTHING.  So, I already knew my miracle had to involve a heart.  I wanted something no one else had and something I wouldn’t ever forget so I would DEFINITELY know God was there… And while I was pondering my situation and looking around, I looked at the rocks I was previously throwing into the river (and occasionally at other people).  And then this almost-brilliant idea seemed to quickly run in then out of my head, “What if I had a heart-shaped rock?”  As soon as I thought that I tried to push it out of my thoughts because it seemed impossible and I didn’t have much time to go around looking for rocks.  Acknowledging my doubt, I decided to go for something a little easier, like a special bible verse that spoke to me.  The leader told us that Psalms was a good place to start reading because it was interesting but didn’t have a specific story that you had to follow.  But every time I tried to read my mind kept refocusing on how cool it would be to get a heart-shaped rock from God.  One made just for me, before I was made.  Something that proved there was a divine plan.  But as soon as I started to dwell on the thought again, I’d push it out with the verses I was reading.

Then, one verse I read was so passionate and moving that I knew that was exactly what I wanted.  Psalm 63:1:  O God, you are my God,
       earnestly I seek you;
       my soul thirsts for you,
       my body longs for you,
       in a dry and weary land
       where there is no water.

I realized that my life was that dry land and I wanted that passion and love David had for God.  I wanted to know a REAL love and have something eternal and perfect to really LIVE for.  I quickly decided that I didn’t need a rock to prove God’s existence, all I needed was His love in my life and that would sustain me.  I asked God to fill the hole that was in my heart with His presence and that prayer was answered.  After that, I knew I had more  of a purpose to my life.  I began to laugh at the thought of ever wanting something like a heart-shaped rock.  Quickly after, the youth leader called everyone back to where we were meeting and I left my spot to join them. 

I was so completely content with my decision to believe in God that as I got up from where I was sitting it took me a few seconds to realize what had caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.  A rock.  It was just a rock but I thought I’d still try it out and pick it up.  My jaw dropped and I’m sure I immediately got chills running up and down my spine… I can’t really describe the great amount of joy I had upon looking at the rock after picking it up.  It was a heart-shaped rock.  Just a regular gray color and feel but the most unique but natural-looking shape. (Picture: http://tiffanycarter.wordpress.com/my-rock ) I was in shock for a while and then gathered my thought and ran to tell the group of the miracle God just gave me.  I didn’t still need the rock for anything but God still provided it, so I would always have the assurance that He is there.  And loves me. (See bottom of page for link to picture)

I may not be perfect, but I know Someone perfect who is always there to listen to my prayers. 

Psalm 62:2  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (NIV)

http://tiffanycarter.wordpress.com/my-rock

Role models: Celebrities Aren’t Cuttin’ it For Me!

The whole world knows when a celebrity dies, but when that star’s ‘number one fan’ dies that celebrity doesn’t even have a clue.

Everyone has a role model.  For you, it might be a significant other, an actor in your favorite television show (although there aren’t many inspiring shows around anymore), your favorite singer, a popular athlete, a best friend you tell your secrets to, or maybe just a person you know, who you feel you can relate to.  Role models are usually people who immediately stick out in a crowd because there is something significant about them, that makes them appear as if they’re a smidget better than others around them.  At school, children are told at a very young age to find someone they look up to and they either write a paper about them or present their ideas to the class.  Until they reach around the age of thirteen most kids are watching their parents,  peers, and teachers to figure out who their role model should be.  They watch everyone around them and see what kind of role models those people are watching and admiring. 

My first “role model” was my grandfather, because he passed away when I was three years old and growing up I heard a lot about the great things he did for other people.  His reoccuring name and the brokenness my mother had in her heart from missing him made me think that he was a good role model.  I thought he could be someone I talk about all the time too.  But my grandfather wasn’t actually there for me to look up to, so I could understand more about how I should live my life.  I had questions to ask my role model but was never specifically told who that person was.  And Britney Spears just wasn’t cutting it for me (she seemed really cool when I was young!).  

And most role models aren’t there for us.  Most of the time when we look up to someone it’s because we assume they’re the type of person who doesn’t need people of their own to look up to.  They’re strong, independent people who seem to have their lives already put together.  But those people we most often look up to in society (especially celebrities) are the people who in REAL life (bringing you back to earth) care about us the least.  And most people who are popular with everyone don’t know of our existence.  The whole world knows when a celebrity dies but that star’s number one fan dies and they’ll have no clue.

There are people we look up to that do love us in return for all the love we give to them, but I’m going to tell you something that shouldn’t surprise you: they aren’t perfect.  “Nobody’s perfect,” is a first reaction to a statement such as the one I made.  So when it comes to role models we admire the people in our life who are the closest to achieving our definition of perfection. 

What is your definition of perfection?   When you picture someone who is perfect, what are qualities they have?  Maybe beauty, or obtaining just the right amount of skills in a sport, in socializing, or obtaining wealth. 

From that, let’s take a better perspective on the definition of perfection.  What is perfect, should be eternal.  Why is this?  Because something that is temporary isn’t something you really want to have!  Don’t you want to have something or someone that will always be there?  Never dies or fails you?  What are some things that are eternal?  Love is the first thing that comes to my mind.  It’s something that never fails and binds up any wounds we have.  Real love can look at the person who just stabbed them in the back and look them in the eyes and say, “I Love You even still.”  Another perfect characteristic would be never letting anyone down.  Without sin, sin being anything that brings you or others regrets, feeling guilty, or tearing down anything good. 

Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a PERFECT role model to look up to?  Someone who we’re always sure that they’re making the right decisions?  There is!  God is perfect because God is love.  He is eternal and is always there for you.  God is the creator of everything and is so indescribable that we can’t even grasp how far His perfection extends.  It’s hard for us who are temporarily here on earth to grasp the concept of eternity as the people around us are constantly dissapointing us. 

Without God we have a constant hole in our hearts and we’re turning to things that will never satisfy us.  Money, fame, ’significant others’, and beauty are some things we try to put in our hearts to find satisfcation.  But we come to the realization that those things are all temporary.  No matter how much wealth or fame we acquire while here on earth, we still all have the same fate.  Death.  Unless we plan to have eternal life with God.  With God in our lives we are given a purpose.  We’re given real love and real happiness, and we find rest.  God offers eternity with Him if you just confess you aren’t perfect and you believe in His son, Jesus Christ who has died for us, being beaten and whipped and having his hands and feet nailed to a cross.

Jesus Christ being sent to earth for us, only further proves God’s perfection and love for us!  Jesus wasn’t just any man.  He was there when we were first thought of, when the earth was formed.  God’s son is a part of God.  As if God tore off some of Himself and sent it to earth and allowed the world to tear at Him in order to forgive our sins.  Animal sacrifices that people used to do only temporarily covered the peoples sins as those animals were innocent and didn’t understand sin, but Jesus understood sin, remained perfect to set an example on how to live and then sacrificed Himself so we would understand how much he really loved us and doing this He got rid of the burden of feeling guilty and having to constantly offer sacrifice.  Jesus Christ coming to earth completely prove how perfect God’s love is.  God came to earth and showed how he understood trials we went through as he went through all the same temptations we did.  And while He was on earth He was still able to avoid sin all because he chose to obey God.  And how blessed are those who obey God!  They not only get rid of guilt but they get to live eternally with God!  Jesus cleansed us of our sins so we can be forgiven and gain the perfection to live with God forever.

 WHAT is the point of living your life for anyone else? Will it give you overall happiness and fulfillment? No, not overall. So what should be the driving force in your life? God.
When someone centers their life on things of this world, all it will lead to is, disaster.  Heart break, a broken life, and dissapointment. If a person thinks that the point of their life is to find their one true love, get married, and life happily ever after… thats not going to work out as well as planned. God is love. (1 John 4:8). No one can have true love without having God centered in it.

If you have God centered in your life you will be constantly blessed.  You are being used for his will and PERFECTION and PURITY is working through YOU. Accepting God into your life turns you around and upside down and its worth every turn. Living your life for something or someone of this earth will only lead you to dead ends and you’ll never be satisfied with your life. These things aren’t perfect and don’t have a GREAT ETERNAL PLAN for you. God does.

God will use you for a greater purpose… God gave us his son so we could experience greatness, perfection, and purity to the fullest while we are still here on earth and so we could experience complete perfection eternally with him. But if we aren’t doing his will and giving every idol we have here on earth to him, how can we be used, how can we be blessed?

Make God the Driving Force in Your Life! Let Him Take The Wheel! This world has nothing to offer, but God has already offered so many things to you already!

“This world is fading away, along with everything it craves, but if you do the will of God you will live forever.” 1 John 2:17

“Why are you downcast O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11

Also refer to a song by Todd Agnew: Glorious Day

Christmas

I wrote this on Christmas Eve for people to read on Christmas morning…

What’s up with Christmas?  What’s behind the meaning of Christmas?  How do we achieve this so-called “Christmas Spirit?”  What’s the big deal anyway?

Our natural instinct when we think of Christmas is to think of somewhere along the line of a great abundance of receiving and giving presents, Santa Claus, the snow, and being with family.  And don’t get me wrong, all of these things we use to spread Christmas joy are great.  But the REAL meaning of Christmas is often overlooked and treated as an old bedtime story.  This “story” though, has a lot to offer not just to Christmas, but to your life!  This story, being a historical event, is meant to change your life forever.  It’s hard to believe your life can change dramatically on Christmas but the news I’m giving to you is the best present that will ever be given to you.

It’s the birthday of Jesus Christ.  God sent His son to earth through a virgin, to keep him pure and set apart from the rest of the world.  This innocent child grew to be the man who died for all sins we’ve done in our lives.  He was perfect but surrendered to God’s will to be sacrificed for us.  So what I’m asking of us this day, is to sacrifice our original thoughts on Christmas of preparing to open presents and understand Jesus’ purpose a little more…

This birth of a baby in a manger is so much more than just a birth.  Jesus was born into God’s perfect will.  His entire life, from the beginning of His birth, was devoted to serving His Father, our Creator.  Then, not only was He dedicated… He loved.  By having a genuine and compassionate love from His father He has an awesome and beautiful love for us. 

And His death on the cross was for our birth.  Our “re-birth” in Him.  We don’t have to crucify ourselves to serve Him and be with Him though.  We have the privilidge of just being in awe of His prescence and love Him in return for all the love He has given us already.  We just needc to be  willing to admit we aren’t perfect.  Everyone screws up and falls flat on their face, everyone has turned away from God and has sinned.  And the amount of sin we’ve commited doesn’t even matter because God’s perfect love is always willing to forgive use.   We are sinners and want something new.  We want a better life, with God’s love to make us perfect as He already is.  All we need to do is recognize Him.  Not only is it perfect love… it’s eternal.

For God So Loved The World That He Gave His One And Only Begotten Son, That Whosoever Believes In Him Will Not Perish But Have Eternal Life.  (John 3:16)

So I’m asking you to take this Christmas time we have to understand and celebrate the birth of Jesus so that we too can be born into a new and greater life with a divine, perfect, and loving God to guide us.  And to achieve the ultimate “Christmas spirit“ we must embrace the Holy Spirit we’ve been given to guide us, to communicate with us, and to pray for us.  There’s a much greater spirit than Santa Claus, given to us as a gift (a free one) from Jesus Christ.

In conclusion… Just before we open our gifts this Christmas morning let us celebrate the amazing gift we’ve been given: Eternal life with God, and a chance to be considered perfect.

Love, Tiffany

Here I am world.  Tiffany. 

Now, I’m not going to sway you to believe what I say with my relaxed tongue and a confidence that seems to give you every answer you ever needed to run your life smoothly.  I’m a broken and helpless person.  I don’t have a contagious smile or a sense of humor that knocks you off your feet.  I don’t have a winning lottery ticket, a thousand cars, a big beautiful house I can welcome you into. I can’t give you a spouse that you’ll never disagree with and always be perfectly content with.   But I do have one thing that is greater that all the things most people think give the greatest amounts of happiness.  And, this is something I’m always willing to tell you about, and show you… Love.

Not the ‘love‘ you’re immediately thinking of though.  Perfect love.  This is love that heals a broken spirit… that gives a lending hand to those who have fallen.  It’s a beautiful life-changing love that leaves you on your knees begging for more and the knowledge to understand it.  AND, it’s free and lasts forever.  I know this not because I thought up this love to give to you.    And not because I myself can directly give it to you… God is Love.  He created us with His compassionate love and has given each person their own personality, look, and purpose in life.  And because of this wonderful gift He has revealed to me I plan to love Him in return for the rest of my life on earth.  And because His love overflows from my heart, I want to give some to you , so that you can have a better understanding of what His awesome love is all about.  So you have a renewed purpose in your life.  A person to live for, who lived and already died for you. 

Love is how we understand God’s existence.  Love, joy, kindness, and goodness in people’s traits and in their actions aren’t things you can see upfront, touch, or even completely understand.  Because love, along ith joy, kindness, and goodness, are eternal as they are gifts from God to us that he placed in people and surrounds people with. 

So love is all I have with me to offer you.  And it’s only because I’ve asked God to reveal all of His love and sacrifices He’s given to me by wanting His forgiveness and His Spirit living in my heart, mind, and soul.  <3 So just give love a chance and give me a chance to explain me… what I know of me…

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
This then is how we know that we belong to the truth,
and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.
For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

1 John 3:16-20