Love One Another!
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34–35 NIV
I am sure we can all agree that proud hearts don’t love like humble hearts. Soft hearts receive love and give love. Hard hearts do neither. I’ve had both. And as I get older, when God softens my heart through time with Him, His Word, and LIFE, it’s actually relieving and I’m so grateful! It’s amazing how He can soften our hearts! We can be led astray by our hearts and act like the Pharisees. We can get caught up in doing everything right and be good people, good Christians, rule followers. We think we know. Truth is we all have our path and to think we know better than the next person can lead us down a spiral of focus on right and wrong, versus unconditional love: The love Jesus shows us. He tells us to Love others like He loves us. It’s through the expression of love that the world knows we follow Jesus!
The word Love in the Bible has so many meanings:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…..” 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 NIV
Jesus was perfect. He gave his life. We are all forgiven. We can be good Christians and love others like Jesus did, drawing people to Him rather than pushing them away! None of us are immune to sin. None of us have our act together all the time. We all have our moments. We are all sinners, and He came to give us LIFE! Through the ultimate expression of LOVE on the cross. How humbling when we think about His teachings and sacrifice! He met us where we were, and where we are today. He had taught us to Love others the same way- meet them where they are!
Father help me to devote my life to what matters most after it all passes away- Love. Thank you for showing us how to live with humility through Jesus. Thank you for giving your life for me and all the people on earth. Amen!
Illustrations by Haley Punjak
Edited by Rachel Harmening