Love Others As He Loves Us
"We love because he first loved us." -- 1 John 4:19
What is love? The dictionary says, among other things, that love is God's benevolence toward mankind. Having a Beth Moore moment, I decided to also check out the definition of benevolence. Charitable, wishing to do good to others, kind, helpful. Yeah. That sounds like God.
So, love is being kind and helpful to others. It means being charitable in our thoughts and actions. It means being the Christians we are called to be.
On Valentine's Day we think of sweethearts, spouses and cards covered with red hearts and glittering words. Our days are filled with people as imperfect as we are. I sometimes wonder if we wouldn't be better off focusing on God's love for us. It is His love that allows us to love others, after all.
I don't mean to down all the joy some folks get from Valentine's Day. Those who know me will claim I'm saying this because I'm single. Maybe they're right. I know what it's like to celebrate and suffer. I know the difference between heartache and a grief so deep that only God's gentle hand can sooth the pain.
Maybe that's my point. God's love is all-sustaining. It surpasses anything we could ever get from another person. It is a love that has no boundaries, no conditions, no exceptions. He loves us no matter what. He will never leave us, never forsake us, never give up on us.
We are called to love others as He loved us. An impossible task. No one can love like He can. But we can try. He knows our hearts and He wants us to try.
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