Daily Devotional (June-14-2023) LOVING LIKE CHRIST
Scripture Reference: John 13:35, We can never get to the end of God's love and we can never overemphasize teaching about love. It's intrinsic to our Christian walk and it's an evidence of our new birth.
We have to understand what it means to love unconditionally. To love unconditionally is to love with no requirements. It is to love regardless. It is to love others even at their worst.
We must evaluate and see that we do not walk in love only when it is convenient for us. If we love people only when they act right, then we really do not love them, we only love the part of them that is appealing to us.That is not Christlike. Scripture tells us that Christ loved us when we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8). Let's understand something. Who you are is what you will ultimately do. A thief will steal because he is a thief. He's bound to act out who he is. God loves/ will love because that's who He is. A sinner cannot but sin because inherently he is a sinner. When Jesus decided to love us, we were at the state where the only thing we could do was offend Him. We had no chance at being good in this state, and the only thing that was bound to come out of us was evil and wrongdoing. The worst state a man can be is to be without Christ, and this was where we were when Jesus decided to lavish His love on us.
We say "as He is, so are we in this world", right? (See 1 John 4:7) This means we are empowered to live like Christ in deeds and in character. Let's not cherry-pick doing miracles, signs and wonders and ignore sacrificially walking in love. If Jesus loved us at our worst, then we are empowered to love others at their worst.
We must love others even when they are unwilling to change. Don't get it wrong, it's possible to love someone while disliking what they're doing. God separated us from our sin. This is what is required of us! Don't love people only when they turn a new leaf. Romans 2:4 tells us that the goodness of God leads us to repentance.
He didn't wait for us to repent before He started being good to us. Think about the fact that God loves people He knows might not receive Christ. As much as He wants them to receive the gospel, they might not, and that doesn't stop Him from loving them. That's unconditional love!
We mustn't love people only when they are useful to us, or when they have something to offer. If we only love people when they're in a position to help us, then we don't love the people in that position. We only love the position they occupy. People don't love the person that is the governor, they only love the position of the governor. Look at when Jesus fed the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21. They came back the following day not in search Jesus for who He was, but in search of Jesus for what He could give. That's a terrible disposition and sadly, sometimes we are like that. Don't love your brethren only when they have a word for you. Don't love them only because of their ministries. You might not know it, but in a sense that's objectifying them.
Finally, as we've severally learnt, love is the decision to magnify the good in others and reduce their faults and flaws to the barest minimum. Choose to find the good in others, and if you think there's nothing worth loving about someone, think about out the fact that God considered them worth His life. Loving unconditionally is the life we've been called into. As soon as you're done reading, take time to meditate and evaluate, and let God's word really transform your mind and influence your actions.
AFFIRMATION: I affirm and declare that the love of God is shed abroad in my heart. I am empowered to be like Christ therefore I love like Him. I do not love only when it is convenient for me, I walk in love always. Glory!
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