We Can Love Well
OPENING PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for loving us and winning our victory so that we can love others with abandon.
READ:
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13 (NIV)
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV)
REFLECT:
As we see in our reflections of God’s love for us, we have been created with the ability to love with abandon – or, as a popular worship song says, with reckless love. We can love like Jesus does – with no hesitation because the receiver hasn’t earned it, and we can love out of a pure place as the Spirit empowers us to love without hesitation.
This is almost always easier said than done. While we know we have victory in Jesus, we can still easily get trapped in keeping track of the wrongs done to us and in looking out for our own interests above the good of others. We can still feel that we are missing out if good things happen to others who “don’t deserve them” and forget that loving our neighbors should be placed at a premium priority.
APPLY:
Make a point today, and this weekend, to look for ways to love recklessly. Be on guard against the things that would trick your heart out of loving sincerely and openly. Find ways to show your devotion to loving like Jesus and look for opportunities to honor others without any benefit to yourself other than knowing you’ve been faithful to the calling God has given you.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Spirit, show me the opportunities that exist in my everyday life to show the love of Christ to those around me. Help me be obedient to those chances and let your light shine brighter than mine.