“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16-17 NKJV
Have you ever had a hard time preaching to someone who is not convinced about the gospel because of the hurt they have suffered from other believers? In most cases, it is usually tougher to convince such people because of the hurt they have had. In His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ showed love to all, and love was clearly seen in his teaching ministry.
In Galatians 5:22, Paul explains that love is a fruit of our born-again spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Consequently, we have the ability to love others because of the Spirit of God in us.
We must understand that love is a core part of our Christian walk and it is one of the major attributes that we are to exhibit as believers. In fact, love is the foundation of the fruit of the spirit. When we let the Spirit work love in us, we find that we easily walk in joy, peace, patience, faithfulness etc.
It is our responsibility as believers to walk in love towards all men, as God requires it from us. Moreover, the world is watching us and if we claim to be Christ-like, they expect us to love like Him. As believers, loving others should be our natural deposition and therefore this must therefore be seen in our daily lives.
As we demonstrate the power of God or give to the needy, it must be out of love, and not self-gratification (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). When we do this, we show the manner of love Jesus exhibited to people around Him (John 15:13).
We can show love to others in many ways. We could start by giving to others, correcting them in love when they are wrong, not gossiping about them, being there for them, checking up on them, rendering advice to them when they require direction, praying for them, and ultimately preaching the Gospel to them.
If we must love like God, we must care about the salvation of those around us. You cannot claim to love a person and be comfortable watching them choose eternal separation from God. Our example of love is in God, who showed love by sending Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16). This bestows on us a responsibility to love others enough to preach the Gospel to them.
The motive of our actions as believers should be from a place of love. God expects us to love others from a natural standpoint because love is our nature. When we love, we exhibit our Christlike nature to the world (1 John 3:16). We are built to walk in love towards others.
SAY THIS: Loving others is easy for me because I have the Spirit of God living inside of me. I walk in love towards all men. I am not easily offended, and I am quick to forgive others.
Bible Reading Plan: Psalms 28, 55; 2 Samuel 16-18