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.
1 John 4:7-8 [NIV]
One of the big problems in the church is also a problem of the world around us. We don't love each other in the way that God loves us. We have a choice to live by the flesh or by the Spirit – most of the world lives by the flesh and the "ruler of this world" (meaning Satan). In that environment, love is not the natural response to every situation we meet.
But we should be different. We know who God is. Notice the description "God is love" in the verse above. It does not say God is very loving, or lovable or lovely – it says "God is love". If we know God and recognise what he has done for us, it is inconceivable that we would not reflect that love in our dealings with our fellows (Christian or non-Christian – we are to love everyone, like God does).
We do see glimpses of that love from time to time in the way people look out for each other. However, it is easy to be loving towards good people – more of a challenge, I find, is to show love to those people I really am struggling with – the less "lovable" people we meet in our daily lives.
Remember the words of Jesus:
"And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that." Luke 6:33 [NIV]
Lord, help me to love everyone the way you have loved me. Help your church to be defined as a "Church of God's Love". Amen.
Dave MacLellan
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