BIBLE PASSAGE:
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
(1 John 4:8)
MEDITATION:
When we you read the verse in 1 John 4:8, does it make you want to pause
and think about the level of love in your own heart? As true believers, God
expects us to work on developing the same characteristics of Jesus. When
we do that, we are confirming to ourselves (and to God) that we belong to
Him. God expects those who truly belong to Him to have and show love.
Look at the love of Jesus.
– He wept tears of compassion at the graveside of a friend.
– He mourned over Jerusalem, because as a city,
it had lost its appreciation for the things of the Spirit.
– His great heart was sensitive to the needs of others.
To emphasize the importance of man’s love for others, Jesus amended
the old commandment…
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”
to include…
“and, Love your neighbor as yourself”
Love is a special emotion that might be non-existent without the help of
the Lord. Why? Because some people can be hard to love sometimes, or
all the time. Jesus, however, showed us how He could rise above natural
tendencies of humans and love those who not only disliked Him, but also
those who wanted to kill Him. That kind of love does not come naturally,
so it must be a gift from above, wouldn’t you agree?
Love is expressed through concern for others. When others are hurting,
love wants to know why, and what can be done to help them. Listening
to others (really listening and not thinking about what you plan to say)
is a way of expressing love. Trustworthiness and dependability are both
expressions of love. They assure others that when they need you, they
know you are reliable and will help them, even if it inconveniences you.
Not being judgmental is another expression of love. The world wants to
encourage us to assume we know the meaning behind everything another
person does or says. We shouldn’t keep our heads in the sand, and it’s good
to ‘examine the fruit’, but we shouldn’t be so smug (arrogant) that we assume
we know what another person is thinking by what they say or do.
As an example,
Sometimes a person’s words or actions may be affected
by medicines their doctor has prescribed for them;
without the medicines, they might be entirely different.
ACTION:
Questions to consider:
– What number would register on your own love meter for others?
– Do you want others to love you, but fail in your efforts to reciprocate?
– How often do you pray specifically for others (by name)?
– When is the last time you have gone out of your way to help
or encourage someone?
– Do you expect others to ‘do acts of love’ for you,
but you fail to ‘do acts of love’ for them?
Jesus spoke about the importance of doing things for others.
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to
be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.”
(Matthew 20:26-28)
When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he addressed relational love.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you
to the interests of the others.
(Philippians 2:3-4)
When we read these words from Paul, we can see that humility is
connected to love. Humility includes an attitude of being grateful
when others express their love to us. Humility also lacks arrogance,
and an attitude that everything is all about us.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me even while I was alienated
toward Jesus. I am thankful that Your love pierced my heart and guided
me to Jesus for salvation. I can never thank You enough for the salvation
You gave to an undeserving soul like me. Teach me to learn and develop
the characteristics of Jesus in my own life. I pray that You will start by
teaching me to love. I know that when I do that, the other characteristics
will become more natural for me. Forgive me for the times I have been
selfish and failed to show love to others. Sensitize my heart with Your
compassion so that I can truly love others and love You as I should.”
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