Jan 19, 2020
God calls all who are His to respond to His love for
us, by loving one another as He loved us, thereby pointing each
other and our world to Him.
Matthew 22:34-40 ESV
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the
Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked
him a question to test him. "Teacher, which is the great
commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. This is the great and first
commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all
the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12 ESV
"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to
them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
How has God loved us?
1. God chose
to love us.
So we choose to love one another.
2. God gave
Himself away for us.
So we give ourselves away to meet each other's
needs.
So we selflessly extend mercy & grace to one
another.
So we celebrate God's work in each other's
lives.
We love God and others all and only because God first loved
us. The more we understand and experience God's love for us,
the more compelled we will be to love others in a way that points
back to Him. So, instead of focusing on loving others better,
I encourage you to focus on God's love for you in Christ.
If and when you find yourself struggling to love a brother or
sister in Christ, lift your eyes to heaven and celebrate how God
chose to love you, at immense cost to Himself. As you do, ask
Him to help you love Him in return by loving that person in a way
that reflects His love for you.