Love One Another

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  Those three words are powerful.  Those three words are repeated many times in the Bible.  Those three words are what we need desperately today...in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces, and in our world!

John uses the phrase, "LOVE ONE ANOTHER," many times in his gospel and in his letters.  In 1 John 3:11, he says, "For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should LOVE ONE ANOTHER."  What kind of love is this?  John explains in 1 John 3:16, by saying, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."  This is not superficial love; this is unconditional, everlasting, sacrificial love!  It is the love of Jesus.  In 1 John 3:1, John exclaims, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!"  As children of God, we have the love of God in us!  He lavished us with His love!  It should be overflowing in our words and in our actions toward one another.   He says again in 1 John 4:7, "Dear friends, let us LOVE ONE ANOTHER, for love comes from God."  He says in verse 8, "God is love."  And he says again in 1 John 4:11, "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to LOVE ONE ANOTHER."

How can we be found guilty of this?  I know that sounds contradictory, but if you were taken to court and a judge had to convict you of LOVING ONE ANOTHER, would there be enough evidence to convict?  Would the words you have spoken to others and would the actions you have taken toward others lead a judge to convict you of LOVING ONE ANOTHER?  That is what I have been thinking about a lot this week.  Am I living God's Word out loud?  Are these three words that I see and hear in John's gospel and letters, "LOVE ONE ANOTHER," a part of my life...in my home, in my school, in my workplace, in my world?  What can I do to be found guilty of LOVING ONE ANOTHER?  I can do what John says in 1 John 4:13-16, when he says, "This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."  I can LOVE ONE ANOTHER because God is in me, and God is love.  I can know love and rely on God's love as I speak to others and as I serve others.  It's not my love; it's God's love in me, and it is the love I desperately need and the love our world desperately needs!  

Lord, help me today to be a vessel of Your great love...to my home, to my school, to my workplace, to my community, and to my world.  Help me walk in the knowledge and the experience of Your love.  Help me to rely on Your love all day long.  Amen!