Loving one another is a command that Jesus has given us and not a suggestion. Our love for each other is a sign that we are His children. Because when the world sees that we love one another, it proves to them that He exists in us. The love that Jesus is talking about in this verse is self-sacrificing, and not just a word that we say to one another. It is a love that we are willing to lay down our lives for our friends. Jesus illustrated this kind of love to us when He died on the cross for our sins. The church or the body of Christ should be the beacon of His love to the world.
I know that it is easy to say that we love one another, but it is challenging to make it a reality because of our sinful nature. Our natural tendency is only to love those who are lovable, kind, and meet our expectations or standards. However, Jesus said that we need to love everyone regardless of who the person is because he/she is our brother and sister in God. Imagine if we love one another sacrificially. There will never be boasting, self-serving, judgmental attitude, pride, and self-centeredness in the church.
When the military trained their soldiers to fight on the battlefield, they trained their soldiers to sacrifice their lives for each other, regardless if they have families or not. We have heard heroic stories that soldiers protected their fellow soldiers by sacrificing their own lives. When a bunch of soldiers who are willing to lay down their lives for each other in the battlefield, they are a unit that is very difficult to defeat. In the same manner, when we, as believers, sacrificially love one another, we will be strong to fight the enemy and be able to shine His love to the world.
The Lord knows that it is difficult for us to live in sacrificial love, and this is the reason we need His strength to help us to love one another. Our own strength is not enough to love others sacrificially. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to love one another. If we are struggling to love others, we can simply ask God to help us to love others.
Ask yourself these questions: what kind of love that my God wants me to love others? What should I do if I am struggling to love others? Why do I need the power of the Holy Spirit to love others?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for showing me what sacrificial love is. Forgive me if I have not loved others in the way you want me to love them. Please help me to love others. Change my heart. I want to be a channel of your love. Please help me with (mention your prayer requests). In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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