I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.
We all can identify with love. The warm hug from a parent, the birth of a baby, the wedding day; the list could go on and on. However, when we look at love as an action verb, how long does our list look?
Do we love by putting others first? By showing kindness when we do not feel like it? Do we love everyone regardless of their situation or beliefs?
If we are to be Jesus’ disciples, we need to understand love encompasses ALL circumstances. If we are to serve Him as He commands, our heart must be in the right place. To know our heart is to first know His heart.
Jesus saved an adulterous woman (John 8:1-11), asked a tax collector to be His disciple (Luke 5:27-28), fed the hungry (Mark 8:1-8), forgave Peter for denying Him (John 21:15-19). Jesus loves us right where we are. He walks beside us. He picks us up when we fall. He forgives our sins – again and again.
A love like that is unconditional and we are commanded to do the same. Serving requires love and love grows when we serve. As Jesus said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
Start a new list today, find the “sick” and show them the love of Jesus.
