Show Your Love

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” - John 13:34b

Jesus not only tells us that we are to love one another, but He also tells us how we are to love one another. We are to emulate His example. How He loves us is how we are to love others. How He loves me is how I am to love you. How He loves you is how you are to love me. So how did Jesus love? If I had to put it in one word, I would say, sacrificially. Jesus loved sacrificially.

No one in history has ever loved like Jesus loves. He always, without exception, put others before Himself. He didn’t love people for what He could get from them; He loved them for what He could give to them. He didn’t choose His disciples for what they could do for Him. He chose them for what He could do for them. For three years He always put them first. That may seem an impossible way to love. But if you are a follower of Jesus you not only have the Spirit of Christ in you, but you also have the love of Christ in you.

The kind of love that Jesus had was not merely in word, but also in deed. He showed His love by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and ministering to the hurting. The most magnificent display of His love was His death on the cross for our sins.

If we will just choose to open our eyes and look around, there are always opportunities to show God’s love. There are needs all around us…people hurting, confused, needy, and lost. Jesus has commanded us to love others. This means whether they are of a different color, political persuasion, or socio-economic level we are to love them. And we are to love them as Jesus has loved us.

If you want to know real love, don’t look at culture – look at Christ. Don’t look at Hollywood – look at heaven. We have a mandate from heaven to love one another and we have the model from Jesus on how to do it. There are no excuses…if you have received the love of God in Christ you must share that same love with others.

Father, thank You for the love of Christ that has been poured out on me. Please forgive me for not loving others with that same love. Please change my heart and make me more loving so that others will be drawn to You by my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.