“Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking.”
1 Corinthians 13:5b (AMPC)
The Bible says that when we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes and pours the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5). Isn’t this amazing? The love of God is already in us! So why do some of us have such a challenge with it? Could it be we don’t know or understand the meaning of God’s love? Do you know what kind of love God is talking about here? He’s talking about “agape”, the God kind of love.
God’s love is unconditional. He loves us with absolutely no conditions. He loves us whether we are born again or not. He loves us whether we are good, bad, ugly, nice, lovely or unlovely. He loves us no matter what we do, think or say. It’s not based on a feeling. It’s a love that loves by choice and ALWAYS chooses to love. It’s the kind of love that seeks the highest good of the OTHER person or persons. It is the love that gives. It doesn’t seek its own way. It puts others first.
Wow! So how are we supposed to love like that? The answer is at the Cross of Jesus and His Resurrection. God loved us so much He gave His Son to die for our sins. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly laid down His life for us. He didn’t insist on His own rights or His own way. He wanted God’s way. The Cross is where we exchange our old life for our new life. Let’s exchange our way for His way; our self-seeking to seeking Him and our rights for the rights He’s given us through His Son. The resurrection is where we receive the POWER to live out this beautiful love life that He’s given us. It took the power of the Holy Spirit to raise Christ from the dead and that is the same Spirit that lives in us! We have the power to love the way God loves.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“I was flipping through the channels on my tv the other day when I came across this person asking a young boy this question. He asked, “Do you have a superpower?” The little boy thought for a second and answered, “Yes. I Do! I make friends!” I thought, wow Lord! Out of all the hero characters that have all these “powers”, he chose a characteristic from within!
And then the Lord said to me, “You have a superpower too. All my children do. That superpower is My love!” You just have to believe you’ve received it and do it. Let’s make that choice to use our “superpower”. Love, God’s love in us. (Elder Veronica Acevedo)
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“God’s love has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit who was given to me. Today, I choose to love the way You love, unconditionally, no matter how I feel, seeking the highest good of others. I love You Lord, with all my heart, mind and strength and I love others as I love myself.”
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
