Today’s Scripture Passage:
John 14:15-21
Key Verse:
“If you love me, obey my commandments. John 14:15 (NLT)
And here we are at Step Three: Loving God and loving others.
Let me just say right off the bat, I don’t love well. I want to. It’s a great desire of mine and something I’ve prayed for the ability to do well for the better part of my adult life.
As a child, I found it easy to love the people in my life. They loved me and we lived our lives thinking the same things were right or wrong, etc..
It was only as I grew up and encountered people who thought differently, lived differently, and criticized my choices that I began to realize love is about more than a feeling.
Loving God means living my life choosing to do what He says is right.
I can’t love others apart from God.
I can’t even love God without His help.
God is love. Period. There is no qualifier here. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 (NLT)
If we want to love well…
we must grasp the truth that God is love and our ability to love comes from Him.
Jesus told us how to love: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13 (NLT)
Yes, He literally died to save our souls from eternal separation from God, but I don’t think this is the only way to lay down one’s life for another.
The minutes of our days add up to our life. How we spend those minutes reflects who it is we’re living to please.
Now, before you spiral headlong down a rabbit hole of panic, let’s look at Jesus’ life choices to gain a deeper understanding of how to know the way to love others. Not loving them from a formula but as individuals.
Jesus didn’t do for the people what they wanted Him to do.
He did what the Father told Him to do.
Only the Father knows what people really need… When we choose to do what He says is right, we love both God and others well.
Everyone, including the disciples, thought Jesus was there to conquer Rome. Nope! He did something even better. He conquered Sin and Death. Woot! Woot!
So, how do we know what God’s next right thing is for us to do?
He gave us two gifts for that very purpose.
Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures.
Jesus living in us and God’s written word.
Holy Spirit helps us understand what we read in God’s word.
Holy Spirit helps us remember what we read so we can choose God’s way for us.
Misunderstanding what we read will cause us to apply God’s word from our own perspective.
Forgetting what we’ve read in God’s word will leave us following our own way instead of God’s.
God’s word transforms the way we think.
God’s word makes it possible for us to know what He wants, and agree what He wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.
When we truly agree with God, we choose to do what He says is right and good. That’s when we are living each moment of our lives loving well!
LORD, we’re so thankful to be citizens of Your Kingdom. We’re thank You for the privilege of being your representative in the foreign land we live in now. Help us to grow in our relationship with You, so we will represent You well. Give us compassion and courage and teach us to love those around us as You love them. We want to love as citizens of Heavens and not citizens of this world!
Digging Deeper:
John 15:30-16:17, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:15 & Hebrews 12:2-4
If you have not yet met Jesus, you can meet Him today. He created you. He loves you. He wants you to be a part of His family. I encourage you to step into the life He created you to live. You will still have the troubles of this world, but you will no longer be facing them alone. I’m praying for you! https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?utm_source=Microsoft&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=HowToGoToHeaven&utm_campaign=USPWGMobileSearchMic
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.