And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~Ephesians 5:2 (NIV)
Sometimes walking in love means to give up our way for a better way. Love is our greatest command and should be the bottom-line response to every situation. In all reality, every fruit of the Spirit should be our natural response to anything and everything that comes our way. When our actions and reactions demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control we demonstrate to a lost world God’s character. To do this we have to eliminate the selfishness and pride in our hearts and learn to submit our will to God’s perfect will for our lives. It’s not near as humbling to hand someone a towel as it would be to get down on our knees and wash their feet. That is going the “extra mile” to show the love of Christ and that is exactly what Jesus did. He tells us in John 13:15 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (NIV) When was the last time you humbled yourself to serve someone else? How about the last time your first response to injustice was to be self-controlled? Gentle? Is your first response to forgive or does that come later after the Lord has to deal with you a little bit about your attitude? If we aren’t reacting by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not being led by the Holy Spirit which leaves us open and susceptible to making decisions and choices that not only lead us astray, but they can also lead those who are watching us astray. Our witness is important to our mission and to walk in love is to be our highest ambition. We are supposed to love God and love others without reserve.
It takes close fellowship with your heavenly Father to be able to serve and love others the way He expects us to. In other words, we must spend time with God to become like Him. When we hustle and bustle from here to there, we get caught off guard and it’s easy to even act surprised at ourselves if we snap when something aggravates us. Have you ever thought “where did that come from?” Well next time you do, think about the last time you spent some time with the Lord. Our work and play and all the fillers we stuff in day to day will rob us of our peace and joy if we let it. We must purposely slow down and get into God’s presence. Very few people in your life are going to come tell you that you need to get alone with God and let Him strengthen your heart and mind, but the truth is, when we see others who are at their wits end that is exactly what we need to be encouraging. Jesus said in John 5:19 “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (NIV) That scripture leaves no doubt that God showed Jesus exactly what He needed to do in every situation. He wants to do the same for me and you, but we must seek Him first. Spend some time with God and ask Him what He wants you to do today. We are told in Ephesians 5:2 that loving other people with gifts of sacrifice are a fragrant offering to God. The Lord will create opportunities for you to show His love to others if you give Him time and then follow His lead.
And with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers. ~Revelation 17:14 (NIV)
Who do you plan to go the “extra mile” for today and humbly serve?
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