Love Others

"We love because He first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." (1 John 4:19-21, NIV)

WOW! What a word from God. Probably not a word we would like to hear sometimes. Especially when that person has done us wrong, when our boss has made us mad, when someone has hurt our feelings, when they hurt our children or loved one, and so on and so on. We don't really want to love that person. We don't feel loving toward them. We don't want to be around them, talk to them, even look at them. But God doesn't say for us to love those who love us. We have to love all. He even tells us to love our enemies.

Boy, now that is asking a lot. He tells us to love them and to pray for them. Not a prayer of God please give them an itch and no fingernails to scratch with kind of prayer. A true heartfelt prayer for God to bless them and prosper them. What happens though when we pray for someone who has hurt us or disappointed us? We begin to love them with the love of God. You can't pray for someone and stay mad at them.

It is so easy for us to say that we love God. But if the measure that we love God is shown by how we love those around us, then we are just as this scripture says-we are liars. LIARS! Not us. But that is what God calls us if we don't love our brother and sister, but we say we love God.

My dear friend, may I encourage you to let go of those things from your past, whether long ago or just recently, that someone may have done to you. Forgive and allow God to bring healing to your life. As long as you hold onto those things you are bound to that person, and that thing is controlling you, whether you know it or not. You cannot be who God called you to be and do what God called you to do as long as those things are in your heart.

I had a situation in my own life not too long ago. I was hurt, disappointed, mad, etc. I allowed that thing to stay in my spirit too long. I could feel it growing in me. I would try to pray and I would get nowhere. Every day that thing loomed in my spirit. Finally I had to forgive those involved and also ask for their forgiveness for my own actions. I knew until I did I was never going to be free from that and the devil would continually use it to keep me from being affective.

The same applies to you. Let it go. Forgive. Allow God to forgive you. Make restitution if at all possible with those in your life. If you have to write them a letter, make a phone call, a visit, whatever you have to do to be at peace with God and man. Only then will you be able to love them. Then you can truly say that you love God and people will look at you and know it is true because you love others.

Our challenge to you today is to remember when you are loving and serving others you are loving and serving Christ. So as we go through our day may we see