Love As Jesus Loves

God is a generous God! He is a loving God! A gracious and forgiving God! When we surrender our hearts to Him, we strive to be more like Him. But why is it so difficult? As Christians who love God and want to be more like Him, we should be generous, loving, gracious, and forgiving too, right? Yet, even in our churches there is bickering, snide remarks, hateful looks, and hearts full of pride. One of the easiest places to lose your Christian experience can be in church board meetings where tempers are raised as soon as a vote doesn’t go our way, and a simple discussion over the color of new carpet in the sanctuary can escalate into fighting. None of this behavior should be exhibited in the heart of someone striving to be like Jesus. But the reason we fail is simple. When we focus on self and take our eyes off Jesus . . . we fall! We need to daily surrender self and keep our eyes on our Savior, asking God to fill our hearts with love for our enemies—yes, even those who have hurt our feelings! When our hearts are overflowing with God’s love, we’ll have the ability to forgive—truly forgive! If tempted to wallow in self-pity about perceived injustice, remember how Jesus was treated, and yet, through it all, He loved His enemies. May we all love as Jesus loved! Texts: 1 John 4:7, John 13:34-35, Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 5:43-44

1 John 4:7 NKJV - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

John 13:34-35 NKJV - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Leviticus 19:18 NKJV - 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV - "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,