Love One Another

Why Human Love Is Not Enough

I have to be honest with you. For years I tried to love people and help people out of my own understanding and my own emotions. And I failed. Over and over again.

Before I knew Christ, I had a neighbor who was hurting. I wanted to comfort her. I went over to her house, and we ended up getting drunk together and crying together. And when it was over, her problems were still there. Nothing had changed. I had not helped her at all. I had just joined her in the pain.

That was the best I could do on my own. And it was not enough.

Human love runs out. It gets tired. It gets offended. It holds grudges. It loves conditionally. If we are going to love others the way God calls us to love, we need a love that does not come from us.

First Love Christ

To love others we must first love Christ and then allow His love to flow to others. The love we give is the love we have first received. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

Live a Life of Love

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2). A life of love is a life that follows the pattern of Christ: sacrificial, willing, and overflowing from a heart that has been filled by Him.

Adorn Yourself With Love

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:12-14).

Love is not something you manufacture. It is something you put on, like a garment, because you have been chosen and loved by God.

Nourish the Love You Have

Love is like a fire. If you do not tend it, it grows cold. Nourish your love for Christ by spending time with Him, by reading His Word, by talking with Him in prayer. The more you are with Him, the more His love fills you and overflows to others.

Let Christ's Peace Rule

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15). When Christ's peace rules in you, you can love from a place of rest, not striving. You do not have to force love. You let it flow.

Let Christ's Word Live in You

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom (Colossians 3:16). When His Word lives in you, it shapes the way you see people. You begin to see them the way He sees them.

Represent Jesus in What You Do and Say

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17). Everything you do can be an act of love when it is done in His name and for His glory.

"To love others we must first love Christ and then allow His love to flow to others."