How God's Love for Us Teaches Us to Love Others Well
- meetgodattheedgeof
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
1 John 4:9-12
[9] God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. [11] Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. [12] No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
As I sit here, I'm waiting for inspiration from the Holy Spirit. A song comes on: "I could sing of Your love forever."
I suddenly feel it—the Lord speaking to me about love and what love looks like in different circumstances. To me, love is the same across the board, but the actions it inspires can vary greatly. Jesus showed us that each person is loved in a way that is just right for them at that time in their life. My children are an ever-evolving lesson in what love looks like from one circumstance to the next.
My beautiful daughter is growing into a young woman, and each day I am learning that the way I used to love her isn't always the right approach for these new and exciting times. When she is unhappy or angry, I can't treat her like a little kid anymore. It can be a headache trying to figure it out!
What drives my desire to find the best way to handle these situations is my love for her.
When I look at Jesus' example, I see how He knew each disciple intimately, and because of this, His love for them was perfect. In each situation, He knew whether tough love, sympathetic love, encouragement, correction, or something else entirely was what they needed to help motivate them to live out their calling.
As I think about that, I realize that God's love for us is much the same. He knows us better than we know ourselves and always gives us exactly what we need, even when we don't immediately understand it.
This is true in all of our relationships and with the people we encounter every day. Of course, strangers are impossible to know well enough to love them exactly the way they need, but when we are open and truly looking for ways to love people, the Holy Spirit helps us.
Always be on the lookout for ways to love people, whether you're walking into a store, driving down the road, or talking to brothers and sisters at church. Pay attention when your friends talk to you. Observe what you can from their body language. Maybe you'll pick up on something they need help with but aren't strong enough to bring up themselves.
Meeting people for lunch, coffee, or at their home is one of the most rewarding forms of brotherhood out there. It is always powerful and often creates friendships that last a lifetime.
The Lord showed us that each person is deserving of love in the way they need it. When we understand God's love for us, it becomes easier to extend that same grace, patience, and compassion to others.
The Lord loves you just the way you are. Our job is to seek Him and strive to be more like Him every day. His greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.
You know how to love yourself because you've spent your whole life seeking what brings you joy. Thankfully, what we desire and pursue is becoming more aligned with what glorifies the
Lord now, right? We're all still working on that part.
Love your brother, sister, neighbor, pastor, stranger, and fellow 101 driver as yourself.
It's God's love for us flowing through us that motivates us to live by this example.
Thank you, Father, for one more day. Amen.
1 John 4:16-19
[16] We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. [17] And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. [18] Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. [19] We love each other because he loved us first.
