“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.” – 1 John 3:16 NIV
Imagine a friend borrowed two million dollars from you, and he encounters a great business loss that renders him unable to pay it back. He explains his current situation and begs you to pardon him, then you let him go. What would you do if you found that person dragging someone on a social media platform for owing him two hundred naira? This is similar to the parable that Jesus was telling in Matthew 18:23 -28.
In our anchor text, we see that in Jesus is not just a message to believe for salvation, but also an example to emulate in His love walk and in His sacrifice for us.
There are diverse lessons that we can learn from the way Christ loved us. One of these lessons is forgiveness. As you have received the love of Christ freely and lavishly, you are obligated to forgive others. Even when the people who offend you do not apologise or do not seem to deserve forgiveness, you have to remember that you too did not deserve the sacrifice and forgiveness of Christ. Therefore, you can no longer afford to be unforgiving (Luke 11: 4).
Another lesson to learn from the way Christ loved us is that we have become love. Love has become our identity. We are a product of the God of love; therefore, we can’t be anything else (1 John 4:7).
Love is not a temperament that is governed by your feelings; it is a fruit of your spirit (Galatians 5:22). We will know that you have the Holy Spirit inside you by the way you love. As God is, so are we in this world. God is love, and so we are love (1 John 4:17).
Friends, let the love of Jesus and His compassion challenge you. Even when He was going through the cross, He was still concerned about people. He consoled the people crying for Him and cared about the welfare of His mother. This means that even when you are going through tough times or are offended by people, your love walk should remain unchanged. Love is your consistent nature!
PRAYER: Lord, help me to love like you. I declare that I am consistent in my love walk.
Bible Reading Plan: Ezekiel 31-33