These past weeks we have been looking at the God’s love and the way He expresses it towards us. Now let’s look at how we express our love to the Father.
“ We love because God loved us first. 20 But if we say we love God and don’t love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don’t love the people we can see?” I John 4:18-20 CEV
A big part of our loving God is how we love others. His love for us is unconditional; Paul tells us that God’s love thinks the best of others and doesn’t store up wrongdoings. In other words, love forgives and forgets. It doesn’t keep score; real love wipes the slate clean.
I’d like to share two different portions of Scripture I was reading this morning. They really spoke to me and gave me a mandate of how I’m to live, reflecting the love of God. Maybe they will do the same for you.
“Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16 of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.” Ephesians 4:15-16 CEV
Paul, who wrote these verses and the ones we will read next, had a divine insight to love. When he had his conversion experience, he was leading a murderous campaign against Christians. He carried arrest warrants on his person, looking for those who professed Christ and were claiming that Christ was the Messiah. He was on the road to Damascus to arrest many more when Christ appeared to him. He went from hating and persecuting the believers to loving them and teaching them how to be more Christ-like.
“Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. 9 In the Law there are many commands, such as, ‘Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not want what belongs to others.’ But all of these are summed up in the command that says, ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ 10 No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.” Romans 13:8-10 CEV
Jesus was the one who taught that the greatest commandment of the Scriptures was to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength and then that we should love others as we love ourselves.
To love the way God wants us to love we first have to receive the love He has for us, experience it for ourselves and then we can be a conduit of love that will flow to others.
“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. 35 If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV
Each of us will have opportunities to be loving today. Remember, we are up for the task because of His love for us!