I John 4:7-8 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Ouch. This verse gets straight to the point, doesn’t it? If I love, I know God. If I don’t love, I don’t know God.
Now, I’d like to tell you that I am always loving to everyone, no matter what. But you and I both know that would be a lie. I may want to love perfectly. In theory, anyway. But then, someone always comes along who annoys me, or makes me mad, and I have a hard time loving them.
The truth is, I can’t love perfectly. Only God can do that. And because I have God in me, His love can shine through me beyond my own imperfect ability to love others.
God is love. He is unselfish, self-sacrificing, caring, compassionate, kind . . . the list goes on and on. His love is not based on a feeling, but rather on His person. He loves us even when we are unlovable, even when we are undeserving. He loves us because of who He is, not because of who we are.
All too often, we base our love for others on our feelings. We love others because they are lovable and deserving. We love others because we want them to love us back. But this kind of love is selfish, and is not really love at all. When we have God living in us, we
love one another because God is love! If He truly lives in us, His nature will be displayed in our lives. And His nature is to love. Period.
Dear Father, Please teach me what it means to really love other people. Help me to love with Your kind of love.
Amen
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