“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV)
Love is eternal. It is not limited by time. When you commit yourself to loving someone in a relationship…you make your commitment to EVERYTHING that person is. You are who you are because of your history…because of all that’s happened before. To be loved effectively, we have to allow others into our history.
Sometimes it is very difficult to love someone. Sure, it’s easy to love the lovely people…but what about those unlovely people that we come in contact with sometimes on a daily basis? In the Old Testament we see the Ten Commandments as given to Moses in Exodus 20. In the New Testament when Jesus was questioned by the Sadducees regarding which is the greatest of the commandments He said that all of the commandments can be wrapped into just two. This first one encompasses the first four of the original Ten Commandments, they deal with loving God. Look at what Jesus said:
Mark 12:28-30
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ’Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…”
In that account with the Sadducees and the scribes Jesus also told them about a second greatest commandment. This second greatest commandment includes the last six of the original ten. Here is what Jesus said:
Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
When we believe that we “no longer love” our husband or wife or that we just cannot love that “unlovely” person we are DECEIVED… because clearly we are commanded to love each other, even our enemies. But “how” do we love one another? The truth of the matter is that the kind of love that we should show to one another is an “ACTION” kind of love. We see this demonstrated by our own Heavenly Father in that “God so LOVED the world that he GAVE His only begotten son…” Our love for one another is best displayed in our actions toward them. Here are some practical things that you can do to show your love for one another:
You will be amazed at the results of doing some of these small gestures…and what a difference it will make in your week. Once again it’s Monday…So Let’s Make It Matter!
God Bless,
Angela
Sometimes it is very difficult to love someone. Sure, it’s easy to love the lovely people…but what about those unlovely people that we come in contact with sometimes on a daily basis? In the Old Testament we see the Ten Commandments as given to Moses in Exodus 20. In the New Testament when Jesus was questioned by the Sadducees regarding which is the greatest of the commandments He said that all of the commandments can be wrapped into just two. This first one encompasses the first four of the original Ten Commandments, they deal with loving God. Look at what Jesus said:
Mark 12:28-30
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ’Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…”
In that account with the Sadducees and the scribes Jesus also told them about a second greatest commandment. This second greatest commandment includes the last six of the original ten. Here is what Jesus said:
Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
When we believe that we “no longer love” our husband or wife or that we just cannot love that “unlovely” person we are DECEIVED… because clearly we are commanded to love each other, even our enemies. But “how” do we love one another? The truth of the matter is that the kind of love that we should show to one another is an “ACTION” kind of love. We see this demonstrated by our own Heavenly Father in that “God so LOVED the world that he GAVE His only begotten son…” Our love for one another is best displayed in our actions toward them. Here are some practical things that you can do to show your love for one another:
- Tell someone you love them
- Do something special for one person on a regular basis
- Spend time listening to someone’s needs
- Be honest
- Don’t hold a grudge
- Volunteer in church
- Invite the Pastor and his wife over for lunch or supper
- Be flexible and put other’s needs above your own (Phil 2:3-4)
- Let someone else receive praise instead of yourself
- Don’t walk on your neighbor’s lawn
- Go to a Nursing Home and visit those that have no family
- Pick up trash when you see it on the sidewalk and put it in a trash container
- Allow your pets to have a private space in another room when you have company
- Offer to return someone else’s shopping cart to the store from the parking lot
- Let someone go before you in the grocery checkout line; especially if you have more groceries then they do
- Invite someone to church and even offer them a ride to church
- Allow someone else to have that parking space that is close to the building
- Offer your seat to someone on the bus or train
- Play your car radio at a reasonable level as not to disturb someone else
- Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a stranger today
- Offer to have one-on-one Bible study with a new believer
- Give an anonymous love offering to someone who always shows up to do whatever job is needed in the church.
- Send your Pastor a gift card to a Christian Book Store, just to let him know you love him
- Turn your cell phone off when you are driving in your car, at church or waiting in line for service.
You will be amazed at the results of doing some of these small gestures…and what a difference it will make in your week. Once again it’s Monday…So Let’s Make It Matter!
God Bless,
Angela
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