THE GREATEST EXPRESSION OF LOVE FOR OTHERS

BIBLE PASSAGE:
He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, 
so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.  
(1 Peter 2:24)

MEDITATION:
When Jesus walked the earth, He was busy about His work the entire time.
He worked in the carpenter’s shop.
At the marriage feast, He turned water into wine.
He touched the lives of many as He made the blind to see, and the deaf to hear.
He made the dumb to speak and even caused the dead to return to life.

He taught as One with authority.
He exposed the Pharisees for their hypocrisy.
He presented a new ethical program to mankind 
which has become the foundation for Western culture.

However, we praise and worship Him for what we should 
consider His greatest feat: He openly showed and proved His love for mankind. 
He spent three dark hours at Calvary dying for our sins so that we could live.
We were on a death march toward eternity, but Jesus sacrificed Himself 
so that we could move to a different path toward eternity.

When we allow Him to seize control of our lives, 
then we are committing ourselves to be busy about His work as well.
We may be confused about what that means, but when we 
read the scriptures, we can easily see what we should be doing.

We may not be able to heal the sick, turn water into wine, 
or return the dead to the land of the living, 
but there are other things we can and should be doing.
Jesus taught us how to pray, not only for ourselves but for others.
Jesus represents the epitome of love and when we pray for others,
we discover that it creates in us a new love for them.

Christ readily shared the ‘good news’ with the people of the world.
We should be prepared to share with others what He did for us.
All Christians have a testimony of how their lives were changed 
by their new relationship with the Lord and our Heavenly Father.

ACTION:
Our salvation means we have chosen to 
‘die to sins and live for righteousness’.
God has called every Christian (adopted children) 
to specific areas of service.
Some have been called to a full time career 
of serving God as pastors, missionaries, etc. 
But every believer is called to be a servant right where we are.

As starters, we can pray for others and show our love for them.
We cannot do either of them very well if we harbor anger, 
bitterness, resentment, of a lack of forgiveness in our hearts.
In order to make room for a new level of love, 
we have to get rid of everything that is in opposition to loving others.
When we learn to love others, 
we discover that our love for the Lord increases.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your plan of salvation that gives 
me the opportunity to be on a new journey toward eternal life. Thank 
You for the peace and joy that are byproducts of when I asked for 
Your forgiveness and surrendered my life to You. Thank You Jesus 
for the agony You endured so that I could have a promise of eternal 
life. Help me in my efforts to serve You. Teach me to have a new 
love for others, to pray for them, and to be prepared to tell them how 
You have changed my attitude and my perspective on living. I pray
that I will be grateful for Your sacrifice for me, and that I will have 
a willingness show my gratitude by glorifying You in all that I do. 
When I end my earthly journey, I want to hear you say, ‘Well done
good and faithful servant’, and not ‘Depart from me, I never knew 
you’.” 

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