Saturday, July 15, 2023

Like He Calls Us To Love

 

By: Grace Metzger

Dear children, let’s not merely
Say that we love each other; let
Us show the truth by our actions.
1 John 3:18

I recently read this verse and it got me thinking. It’s very easy to say that you love others, everyone claims to have love for others, but to actually show love with our actions is a different story. I tried looking back at my actions, was I showing love? Was I showing love when I got mad at the car driving slow in front of me? Was I showing love when I snapped at my family members in anger? Looking back at my actions just this week had me rethinking my claim of loving others. I knew that this needed to change so I went to see what the Word said about loving others and, not to my surprise, there were plenty of verse to choose from about showing love to others.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful
or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is
not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
1 Corinthians 13:4

This was my favorite verse that I found in my search for how to start loving others like God calls me to. This verse literally gives us a definition of love and how it should look. Love is patient and kind, not getting angry at your partner for taking forever to respond to a text. Love is not jealous or boastful, not getting resentful at your friend who has a better job then you. God knew us, and this includes me, well enough to know that we would need a reminder of how love should actually look. This verse goes on to say,

Love never gives up, never loses faith,
is always hopeful, and endures through
every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:7

Think of all the way your life could change by having this kind of love for others. How many friendships could have been saved. How many relationships could change for the better. To start living you life with the kind of love that 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 calls is to would be to live life the way God calls us to. This is so important that the Bible evens say in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” This is how important it is! It’s so important that no matter what you sacrificed, no matter what you do if you do not have love then you will have gained nothing.

Developing this kind of love isn’t easy and doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, patience, and a lot of work. But don’t let that discourage you from doing it! The reward is worth it. The new relationships you will create and the current ones that you will change by loving like God calls us to will improve your life in so many ways. God wants us to have that type of life. He is calling you and me today to start loving others like this.

 

Discussion questions:

1.)    What is your favorite verse that talks about loving others?

2.)    How do you think this will affect your relationships?

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