ARE YOU OBEYING THE LORD’S COMMAND TO LOVE?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
(John 15:12)
MEDITATION:
If you were asked to sum up the scriptures in one word, you might
choose the word, ‘unity’. Isn’t that what God wants of all people?
He wants us to have unity with His Son, Jesus.
He wants us to have unity with Him in heaven.
He wants us to have unity with other believers.
He wants us to have unity with members of our family.
He wants us to be unified in righteous harmony with all people.
He wants us to be unified with the characteristics of Jesus.
One of the characteristics (maybe the greatest one) of Jesus is love.
Love is the key to Christian living. Jesus loves us so much that He
wants what is best for us.
He loves us so much that He wants us
to have friends and to be a friend of His.
He loves us so much that He wants us to know His Father.
He loves us so much that He cares about our concerns.
He loves us so much that He listens to our prayers.
He loves us so much that He prays to our Heavenly Father for us.
He loves us so much that He helps us find peace in times of troubles.
He loves us so much that He gave us God’s Word for our benefit.
He loves us so much that He gave us the Holy Spirit
to help us navigate a sinful world as followers of Him.
He loves us so much that He helps us resist the attacks of the evil one.
He loves us so much that He teaches us many virtues,
including loving and encouraging others.
He loves us so much that He doesn’t want us
to miss out on an eternity with Him in heaven.
He loves us so much that He agreed to suffer through a long,
painful, and humiliating death on the cross to make it possible
for us to be with Him in eternity.
He loves us so much that He tells us what we should do to be blessed.
One of His commands is to ‘love others as He has loved us’. Is that doable?
Probably not in our own strength, but when we call on Him with faith, we
can successfully obey His commands. That means that when He tells us to
love as He loves, we can!
We can love others enough to want
them to know, and to be a friend of Jesus.
We can love others enough to love them in spite of their faults.
We can love others enough to genuinely care about them and their issues.
We can love others enough to take the time to listen to them.
We can love others enough to sacrifice
ourselves in order to minister to their needs.
When we set aside our selfishness and
self-centeredness, we can start loving others as Jesus loves us.
ACTION:
Questions to consider:
– Do I love others as Jesus loves me?
– When is the last time I went out of my way to do something
special for someone else without expecting anything in return?
– What is the last sacrifice I made to help someone else?
– Do I sacrifice for others, or,
am I more concerned about my own desires?
– How often do I fail to show love to others by being rude,
uninterested, or ignoring others when they reach out to me?
– How often do I fail to pray for others who are suffering?
– How much of my life do I give up
to encourage and lift the spirits of others?
– Is my life focused solely on myself, my family and my friends,
or have I learned to love others like Jesus loves me?
– Do I rationalize or justify my reasons for ignoring the Lord’s
command for me to love others like Jesus loves me?
– How would I feel if someone showed me
the same level of love I show to others?
– Is there anyone I’ve decided I will not love?
(Jesus didn’t exclude anyone)
When Jesus gave us a command to love others as He has loved us,
He was not excluding you or me. When He said we should love others,
it was not a suggestion – it was a command! We show our love of the
Lord when we obey His commands.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Now remain in My love. If you keep My commands,
you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My
Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have
told you this so that My joy may be in you and that
your joy may be complete.”
(John 15:9-11)
Which reigns most in your life – prejudice, selfishness, or love?
Never forget that Satan will make every attempt to discourage
and prevent us from loving others as Jesus loves us. Instead of
finding faults in others, Jesus teaches us to look for the good in
them, so we can encourage them and let them know they are
loved.
“You are My friends if you do what I command. I no
longer call you servants, because a servant does not
know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father
I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but
I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and
bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you
ask in My name the Father will give you. This is My
command: Love each other.
(John 15:14-17)
Where do we start? When someone is sick, or going through
a difficult time, we can check on them, and let them know we
are praying for them. It might feel redundant to us since we
are praying for them daily, but it can mean the world to others
when we tell them we are praying for them.
Why wouldn’t we want to let them know we are concerned
about them, in a similar manner that Jesus cares about us?
With today’s technology, we have the ability to send a brief
text to let them know we care about them and their situation.
And, when we do, we are obeying our command from Jesus!
“My command is this:
Love each other as I have loved you.”
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me even when
I am unlovable. Without knowing of Your love, my life
would be hopeless. Teach me how to love others with the
same love You have for me. With Your loving Holy Spirit,
show me how to be more compassionate and concerned
about those around me. Teach me the value of making
sacrifices for others.”
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