WHAT “GETS IN THE WAY” OF YOUR LOVE FOR OTHERS, AND FOR GOD?

SCRIPTURE:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. 
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” 
(John 13:34)

MEDITATION:
Love means sacrificing for others with no expectations of anything in return.
Too often, there are folks who do things for others, 
and then wait to see what they will do for them in return.
That is more akin to bartering, than an expression of love.
The following is by no means an exhaustive list, but the scriptures included  
provide us with a few important considerations regarding love.

Love means we want to spend time each day reading God's Word.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 
(Psalm 119:11)

Love means 
we look forward to spending time with other members of our family of God.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, 
but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 
(Hebrews 10:24-25)

Love means that we avoid gossiping about others 
because we know it displeases the Lord, and hurts others.
A gossip betrays a confidence, 
but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. (Proverbs 11:13)

Love means we look for opportunities to encourage and build up other believers.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, 
just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Love means that others can see that we are followers of the Lord 
by what they see us do and hear us say.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, 
if you love one another.” (John 13:35)

Love means that we are seekers of peace.
When we want to see peace, 
then we will practice self-control, and manage our irritations and anger.
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, 
encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love 
and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11)

Love means 
we find ways to serve the Lord - to be a part of His earthly ministry.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use 
your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 
(Galatians 5:13)

Love means that we will be humble and not arrogant. 
We will be gentle when dealing with others and will practice patience.
Patience means we develop an ability to tolerate others, rather than 
rising up in anger when they have a different opinion than ours.
Patience can be a struggle for “fix it” type people, 
but with God’s help everyone can develop patience.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, 
bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

Love means that we know how to be thankful to others for their graciousness,
and to God for the blessings we receive from Him.
Learning to be thankful is an indication that our capacity for love is growing.
When our love is growing, we can be assured that our faith is also growing.
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, 
because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have 
for one another is increasing. (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

Love means that we have a strong desire for obeying God's commands. 
It also means that our concern for others is sincere to the point that 
we are willing to sacrifice time and convenience 
to help them when they are in need.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have
sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 
(1 Peter 1:22)

Love means that we think like other believers. 
Why? Because we all are developing a mindset 
similar to what we have learned about the mindset of Jesus.
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, 
be compassionate and humble. (1 Peter 3:8)

Love means that our belief in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is real and sincere.
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, 
and to love one another as he commanded us. (1 John 3:23)

Love means we obey God's command to love one another. 
It means that we can love more sincerely than the world's definition of love.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 
(1 John 4:11)

Love means that God is living in us, 
and we know that, because we have a love for other people.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, 
God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12)

Love means that Jesus knows us by our actions. 
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27)

Love means that we will freely attend to the needs of other believers 
with no expectations from them.
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” 
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” (John 21:16)

Love means there are times 
when we consider the needs of others ahead of our own needs.
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)

"For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue 
from evil and their lips from deceitful speech." (1 Peter 3:10) 
We have a natural desire to share our lives with one another, 
and we can experience emotional involvement with daily situations. 
This gives us a powerful means of connection with others,
but it can also leave us vulnerable to the sin of gossip. 
We may be tempted to gossip to make ourselves look or feel better, 
but it does just the opposite – others soon categorize us as ‘gossips’. 
As the verse above tells us, in order to enjoy life (a life centered on Christ), 
we need to control our tongues. 
When love replaces self-centeredness, 
we find that thoughts of evil, deceitfulness, vindictiveness, 
hatefulness, and gossip are no longer a natural tendency. 
Instead, 
we have a tenderness and a natural desire to love others, and love God.

ACTION:
What does your love meter look like?
Does it lean toward the worldly definition, or is more like the love of Christ?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me with a love that doesn’t change 
based on my actions. You show me a “new love” that is far from the world’s 
idea of love, and it is shown in Your Son, Jesus Christ, as well. Show me 
how to have that kind of love for You and for others. Too often I allow 
circumstances and the actions of others to cause me to withhold my love. 
You don’t do that with me, so help me to change my ideas and thoughts about 
love; mold them into a love more like Yours. Teach me to look for opportunities 
to express love for others. I pray that I will no longer allow my selfishness, 
self-centeredness, anger, deceitfulness, busyness, hurt feelings, or anything 
else to ‘get in the way’ of showing love for others, and for You. Thank You, 
Jesus, for Your ultimate expression of love, when You voluntarily went to the 
cross for me, and everyone else (even those who mock and hate You).”