The Love of God

Ephesians 4;1-4, "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future." (NLT)

The Spirit of the Lord has been reminding me about the genuine and authentic Love of God during my times of Prayer over the past several weeks. It is very easy for that cardinal principle revealed in the Word to fall off the top tier of our understanding and become covered over by all of the problems, challenges, and difficulties that we face on a daily basis. Even as a Minister/Pastor I must remember that the motivating factor or call from God is to love people and care for their spiritual well being. Let us be honest, there are times that this type of action is harder to live out than it is at other times in our lives. There are people that are more lovable than others. There are times that the situation requires an "extra" release of God's love in our lives due to the actions or decisions that was made by an individual. BUT isn't it during those moments that people would need to sense and feel the Love of God at work in our lives as well as through our lives?

I encourage you to remember those times in which you needed people to share the Love of God with you. I encourage you to remember those times that you appeared unlovable. I encourage you to remember those times that you needed the forgiveness of God and those times in which you needed the forgiveness of people. I believe that God is calling each of us to love Him and to love people with and through His love. Trust me, I fully understand those words are easier said than done. I have seen it from both sides of life. BUT I have also seen the true Love of God at work in such a way that it brought forgiveness, restoration, healing and even a closer bond with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We love to refer to ourselves as the "family of God" but there are times that God calls us to fulfill the directives that He has given to His Family. The scripture text today reveals a small but very important portion of those directives.

John 13:34-35, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (NLT)