Let Everything You Do Be Done In Love
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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 (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)."
I am going to be transparent with you. As I read these verses about love, I was convicted as I realized I have not been showing love as described here. Lately, I have found myself easily offended and at times self-seeking. I was holding on to the wrongs that have been done to me instead of releasing them to the Lord. Because I had been holding on to the offenses, a root of bitterness had begun to spring up within me. I did not like it-not one bit. The Lord used a series of events and wise counsel to open my eyes and help me to see where I have sinned.
While this was not easy, I am so grateful that the Lord does not ever give up on us. His Spirit who lives within us will gently convict us of our sin. It is then we have a choice to make. Are we going to continue down that path of disobedience or are we going to follow God's lead, dying to self and submitting to His will regardless of our circumstances or how we are treated?
What are you going to choose? As for me I choose love. I choose to love like Jesus-unselfishly and without expecting anything in return. You see, you nor I can change anyone else, only God can do that, but we can choose to change ourselves. When we love as Christ does, it is without condition. It is looking beyond the faults of another and seeing them through the eyes of Jesus. Remember that while we were still yet sinners, Christ died for us out of His great love (Romans 5:8). He didn't expect us to clean up our act before coming to Him. Instead, He looked beyond all of our sin and saw the person we would become in Him.
It is a beautiful thing; to realize just how wretched we were and yet, Jesus so loved us. Not because of anything we had done, but solely on His grace. It is because of His great love that we are able to love as He does. The Lord Jesus left His throne in glory and laid down His life for us-this is true love. "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 not 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)."
As a follower of Christ, you and I are commanded to love one another. We can do this by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. He is our Helper. As we submit to His Lordship and lay aside our selfish desires, we can truly love as He loves.
My friend, we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). There are many unbelievers who watch our lives, not necessarily what we say, but our actions. Yes, words matter and we are to speak life. But are we showing by the way we live that we follow Christ? Would others look at our life and want to serve the God we "say" we follow? When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment in the Law was, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39)."
Make the choice today to love as Jesus loves. Choose to see others through the eyes of Christ. This is a supernatural love. A love that is gracious, merciful, compassionate and forgiving. A love that does not keep a record of the wrongs done to you. A love that is always hopeful, always trusts and always perseveres.
"To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free (John 8:31-32)."
I am going to be transparent with you. As I read these verses about love, I was convicted as I realized I have not been showing love as described here. Lately, I have found myself easily offended and at times self-seeking. I was holding on to the wrongs that have been done to me instead of releasing them to the Lord. Because I had been holding on to the offenses, a root of bitterness had begun to spring up within me. I did not like it-not one bit. The Lord used a series of events and wise counsel to open my eyes and help me to see where I have sinned.
While this was not easy, I am so grateful that the Lord does not ever give up on us. His Spirit who lives within us will gently convict us of our sin. It is then we have a choice to make. Are we going to continue down that path of disobedience or are we going to follow God's lead, dying to self and submitting to His will regardless of our circumstances or how we are treated?
What are you going to choose? As for me I choose love. I choose to love like Jesus-unselfishly and without expecting anything in return. You see, you nor I can change anyone else, only God can do that, but we can choose to change ourselves. When we love as Christ does, it is without condition. It is looking beyond the faults of another and seeing them through the eyes of Jesus. Remember that while we were still yet sinners, Christ died for us out of His great love (Romans 5:8). He didn't expect us to clean up our act before coming to Him. Instead, He looked beyond all of our sin and saw the person we would become in Him.
It is a beautiful thing; to realize just how wretched we were and yet, Jesus so loved us. Not because of anything we had done, but solely on His grace. It is because of His great love that we are able to love as He does. The Lord Jesus left His throne in glory and laid down His life for us-this is true love. "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 not 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)."
As a follower of Christ, you and I are commanded to love one another. We can do this by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. He is our Helper. As we submit to His Lordship and lay aside our selfish desires, we can truly love as He loves.
My friend, we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). There are many unbelievers who watch our lives, not necessarily what we say, but our actions. Yes, words matter and we are to speak life. But are we showing by the way we live that we follow Christ? Would others look at our life and want to serve the God we "say" we follow? When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment in the Law was, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39)."
Make the choice today to love as Jesus loves. Choose to see others through the eyes of Christ. This is a supernatural love. A love that is gracious, merciful, compassionate and forgiving. A love that does not keep a record of the wrongs done to you. A love that is always hopeful, always trusts and always perseveres.
"To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free (John 8:31-32)."
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