Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8 ESV
If I could give the whole world one gift this Valentine’s Day, it would be true love. I don’t mean the kind of love we usually talk about today. I mean the Agape kind of love the kind of love God has for us. We are told in John 13:34-35 that we are to love one another as Christ loves us. If we do this, everyone will know we are a disciple of Christ.
This means we will have to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-44). God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16). Christ died for us while we were sinners, meaning we were His enemies (Romans 5:8).
God puts up with our faults. He loves us despite our evil ways. We must do the same for others. We are called to bear with one another in love in Ephesians 4:2.
We can’t truly love God without loving each other. I want you to get a good understanding of what our Scripture passage is saying. If we can’t forgive others and love others (even our enemies) as Christ loved us, we don’t even know who God is. We don’t get Him. We are called to be imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1). How can we do this if we don’t love others as He has loved us?
Today the word “love” will be thrown around like a football in the Super Bowl but take a minute. Think about what love is. There will come a time in the future when we will be judged for how we loved others. Are you ready for that?
I used to wonder why the Bible told us to pray for those who persecute us. I have discovered that I can’t stay bitter and angry when I pray for someone. I pray for God to change them, but God changes my heart from one of bitterness to one of compassion.
We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We are commanded to love the Lord with all our hearts, all our soul, and all our mind. We are commanded to love others as we love ourselves.
Why did God tell us to love others as we love ourselves? Because if we are honest with ourselves, we love ourselves a great deal. We are often tempted to put our own needs above those of others, but we are told not to do this in Philippians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 10:24, and Romans 12:10. We are told to look out for one another.
Today, you will probably be professing your love for your sweetheart and that is good. But you can’t truly love another human being unless you first love God. We must put God first. We must love Him with all our hearts. This equips us to love others with the unconditional love God has shown us time and time again.
None of us are perfect. It’s nothing short of hypocritical for us to be angry with others who mess up or mistreat us. They are sinning just as we have sinned ourselves. Let today be the day you discover Agape love. Trust in God to help you to forgive others their trespasses as he forgives you. Trust in Him to help you to remove any bitterness in your heart so it may be filled with love.
Luke 6:32 tells us even sinners love those who love them. Today we will see a lot of superficial love, but we must strive to obtain true love.
We can only achieve true love when we first love as God has loved us. We must put Jesus first in our lives and love Him with our whole hearts. We must love others (all others) as we love ourselves and we must put ourselves last. If you want to be the best you can be when it comes to loving your spouse, your family, and your friends, achieve true love. Love as Christ has loved us.
Have a great day!