“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37-39
God wants us to have a relationship with Him, with others and with ourselves, that is based on LOVE. His kind of love. For some of us that may be very challenging because we don’t quite understand the true meaning of His love. When we think of love we think about how it makes us feel. If we “feel” like loving, we will. If we don’t “feel” like it, we won’t. We tend to put conditions on our love or we get very selective about who we love.
But the beauty of God’s love is that it is ALWAYS the same! It is unconditional. It doesn’t matter what we think, say or do, God still loves us! His kind of love is by choice. It’s not based on feelings. He loves us no matter what and that includes our past, present and future. God’s love gives. It is fully and completely committed. It always seeks the highest good of the other person. God’s love never fails (1Corinthians 13:8).
So how can we love like that??? His Word tells us that His love has ALREADY been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5). When we were born again, God’s love was poured into our hearts! We just need to cultivate that love by making a choice to do it no matter how we feel, no matter what someone may have done to us and no matter who it is. Ask Him to help you love Him, love others and love yourself with His love. He will guide you and be with you every step of the way.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
I remember years ago, I was spending time with the Lord and I was telling Him how much I loved Him and how much I loved my family and how I loved everyone! And then, He stopped me and asked me a question. “What about you?” I said, “What?” And He asked me again, “What about you? Do you love you?”
That question transformed my life. He proceeded to take me to Matthew 22:37-39. He explained to me that in order for me to truly love Him and love others, I had to love myself. That was very difficult for me at that time, because I had a very poor self-image. He told me, “You are made in My Image and My Likeness. To see yourself any other way is not correct.” I had to love “me” by choice, not by feelings and with no conditions. That set me free!
Don’t let anyone or anything hold you back from loving the way God does. It’s in you! Make a decision today to love His way and He will heal you and set you free. (Elder Veronica Acevedo)
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I love you LORD with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. AND I love others as I love myself.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 29; Psalms 137
- New Testament: Luke 9:51-62; 1 Thessalonians 2:10-20
