BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes
from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God
and knows God. And He has given us this command:
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
(1 John 4:7, 21)
MEDITATION:
Do you ever wonder how much of God’s love exists in you?
The capacity for loving others is a gift from God. It’s not a
natural tendency because we are born with a selfish nature.
Since a selfish nature is focused on self-gratification, it lacks
concern and consideration for others, because it’s all about ‘self’.
Selfishness causes us to be more concerned with how we look,
what we own, who we know, how well we are liked, and what
we have accomplished, than we are concerned about looking
for ways to encourage and lift the spirits of others.
Selfishness can often include a self-centered egotism that lacks
compassion and concern for others, unless it benefits us the
selfish person in some way.
For instance, if a selfish person thinks he or she will ‘look good’
in the eyes of others, then they will sometimes show a type of
superficial love toward someone. But it is not a genuine love;
it is a love with a hidden agenda that includes expectations
from the other person to love them in return.
In golf there is a phrase,
“Drive for show and putt for dough”
The idea is that hitting a long drive can impress (‘show’) those
watching, but the ones who are financially successful (‘dough’)
are the ones who can sink putts.
It is a phrase that could be applied to acts of love. In other words,
do we show love toward others so we can impress those who see us,
or do we have a love and kindness that is consistent and genuine
regardless of who sees us?
Do we love ‘for show’ or
do we love ‘so someone will know we care about them’?
Why is love mentioned so often in the Bible and why are we
commanded to love? Love is a characteristic of God and His
Son, Jesus, so if we expect to be more like Him, then we need
to love others in the same manner that He loves us.
Without saying a word, we can be a witness of the goodness of
God when we love others (and especially when we have a great
concern for them and their well-being). Others can see our faith
in action when they observe a sincere love flowing out from us.
Naturally there are some people in our lives that seem
unlovable. We might think to ourselves,
“Why should I waste my love on someone who
is undeserving, when I could direct that love
to someone who is much more lovable?”
Is that how God treats us? Of course not! God loves us when
we turn our back on Him and even when we rebel against Him.
He teaches us that love is a renewable resource. Love is not
something that gets used up; it replenishes itself as needed
from God’s stockpile.
Just to be clear about whom we should love, God tells us that if
we love Him, then we MUST love our brothers (and sisters). Our
expression of love toward those around us is one distinguishing
characteristic of the depth and quality of our faith.
When we love others, we can forgive them from our heart.
We may not like something they did that harmed or offended
us, but God has given us a capacity to love, and it is a love that
includes forgiveness.
In a sermon given by Martin Luther King (in 1957) He said,
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.
He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of
the power to love. There is some good in the worst of
us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover
this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
He made a good observation, but do his statements align
with the scriptures? When we read the Bible, it appears
that they do, don’t they?
We might be thinking,
“I don’t think there is some evil in me”.
But what about the things we lust for? Are some of those
things outside God’s established boundaries? Do we have
anything that takes us away from worshiping the Lord?
They may not be what we would consider sinful things, but
if we are focused on them more than on God, then they can
be categorized as ‘evil’ (since God is ‘good’).
In addition, what are some things we do that can be hurtful or
discouraging to others? As an example, do we receive a text
from someone and choose not to reply? What kind of message
does that send to the ‘texter’? Being indifferent, inconsiderate,
or unkind is a type of evil that Jesus was not guilty of committing.
Are we better than Him?
Someone thought about us and sent us a text, but when we fail to respond,
it communicates to them that they are not as important to us as we are to
them. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy response, but just something that
acknowledges we received and read their text. They spent some amount
of time to send us a message…are we too important or busy to respond?
When we look at the parable of Jesus about the Unmerciful Servant,
He reminds us of the seriousness of being able to forgive others. Jesus
tells us that a man without compassion would be punished (by receiving
the same type of forgiveness they have shown toward others):
“Then the master called the servant in.
‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt
of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have
had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be
tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is
how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless
you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
(Matthew 18:32-35)
Included in this parable is the phrase,
‘forgive your brother or sister from your heart’
Jesus tells us that our forgiveness should be sincere and not
some kind of superficial forgiveness. What does that mean?
It means that we forgive them, period. We don’t forgive them
with stipulations, we just forgive them in the same way Jesus
and God forgave us.
Prior to the parable, Peter had
asked Jesus about the limitations of forgiveness:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked,
“Lord, how many times shall I forgive
my brother or sister who sins against me?
Up to seven times?”
(Matthew 18:21)
In essence, Jesus told Peter that
forgiveness doesn’t have any limitations:
Jesus answered, “I tell you,
not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
(Matthew 18:22)
ACTION:
There are some takeaways from the Bible Passage for today:
– Love comes from God.
– When we sincerely love, it is an indication
that we have been born of God, and we know Him.
– We are commanded to love one another.
– If we love God, then we are expected to love others as well.
– Sincere love includes the capacity to forgive.
How are you following God’s instructions for loving? How have
you expressed love to someone in the past week, month, or year?
Do you only show love when it has been shown to you first? Are
your expressions of love sincere, or are they merely for show? Do
you expect others to love you in return, whenever you show love
to them?
Do you have a desire for others to see the Lord living in you?
Are you concerned about the salvation of others? Do you have
the capacity to forgive others? Would you want others to treat
you and value you in the same manner that you treat and value
other people (not just a select few, but ALL people)?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me even thought
I am undeserving and unlovable. Help me to develop Your
capacity to love in my own life. Teach me how to forgive
others as You forgive me. Provide me with opportunities
to love others and show me how to respond appropriately,
and in a timely manner. I want others to know of my love
for You and for them to be able to witness Your love flowing
through me. Remove from me the barriers that prevent me
from loving as I should. Forgive me for any selfishness and
lack of forgiveness in my life. Change my heart and my
attitudes so that others can easily see my faith is genuine.”
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