Loving Others

Here is a spiritual principle: We cannot exercise love unless we are experiencing grace. You cannot truly love others unless you are convinced that God's love for you is unconditional, based solely on the merit of Christ, not on your performance. Our love, either to God or to others, can only be a response to His love for us.  Jerry Bridges

Years ago I would read the paper and in the comics section there was always a “Love Is” cartoon.  It always showed a little boy and girl and below the picture it would say what love is.  Sometimes it would show the little boy giving the girl a flower and the caption would read “Love is…giving her flowers”.  Another one would read “Love is…turning his head.” 

Thinking about those long ago cartoons, I started thinking about what love really is from a biblical perspective. The kind of love that the Bible says we are to have is kind of difficult.  It is hard to love someone who is unlovable.  We were placed on earth to (1) love God and (2) love others.

Sometimes I think we are confused about what love is.  Real love means that we must give up our time for another.  That is how real love grows.  We can give someone money, gifts and all sorts of things, but that doesn’t constitute what love is.  One of the biggest mistakes we make is in thinking that we can give someone enough things that they will know we love them.  We each have a finite amount of time in each day to love God and others.  How do we go about showing love to others?

One of the ways I showed love to my niece and nephews was that I always made time for them.  When they were younger and involved in sports and other activities, I always made a point to get involved in what they were doing.  The thing is, I sacrificed things I wanted to do or had planned to do so that I could spend time with them.  When my nephew was playing football, I would schedule a weekend and take off a Friday from work to drive to Houston to see him play.  When my nephews played soccer I helped coach their team.  That meant giving up portions of my Saturday’s and evenings after work to coach and support them in their activities.  When my niece came to town and was staying with my parents I always made a point to drive out to their house and spend time with her. 

There is another thing that deters us from loving others as God would.  Have you ever met someone and already had a preconceived idea of whether you would like the person or not.  Maybe you had a friend who told you something about the person and you decide that if your friend doesn’t like this person, you won’t either.  I’ve done this in the past so I know what I am talking about.  

Over the years I have learned to discard what a person says about someone else.  If each person you meet has a clean slate when you meet them, you stand a much better chance at learning to love them for who they are and not for what someone else thinks about them. 

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You love me even when I sin.  If You can love me in the midst of my sin, how can I not love others the same way?  Teach me of Your love.  I want the kind of love that sees past the sin to the sinner.  If I look at myself realistically, I will understand that I need the same thing from others. 

                  

Scripture:   Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:12-17