How do I love?

I know this isn't how I usually post. Usually I have a little anecdote to share, but not today. There's been a question on my mind that has just been wrecking me lately. How do I love? I am trying to figure out how to love. How to love like Christ loves us. How to live out His love. To not be filled with envy, strife, bitterness. That my first reaction would not be to judge but instead to extend grace. Not expecting people to clean themselves up before I accept them. Not setting standards for people that I myself can't meet.

I want to feel the pain of my neighbors. I want my heart to break for them in their distress. Throw away the barriers of protection I have built up around my life that keeps me a safe distance from others around me. Re-sensitize myself to the suffering of God's children. Created in His image. I want to be able to rejoice when others rejoice. Not feel envious or jealous of their circumstances, but to wholeheartedly rejoice with them.

I want to show the city around me, full of hurting, dying people that the love of God is real. It's so real you can feel it. It's probably not going to happen when I'm leading worship, preaching, or writing a blog entry. It's going to happen when I live. How can the love of God be more evident in me? How can we show the truth to those who are desperate for something real to cling to?

How do we feel? How do we feel?
My Generation is aching for real
Dying for love, crying for truth
My Generation is aching for You
Starfield "My Generation"