And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
What would you do if you were told that you had a supernatural ability? Like Superman or Superwoman? God says you do. He says you have the supernatural ability to move the mountains of adversity in your life. Jesus tells us in Mark 11:23 “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (ESV) God also says you have supernatural power over your unseen enemy. He tells us in Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (KJV) Most importantly, God says you have the supernatural power to love others. God cares about every detail of our lives, but He cares most about people. We can’t pray for provision and prosperity and backbite and devour others with our words and actions. God tells us in Galatians 5:14-15 “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” (NIV) God doesn’t mince words here, we reap what we sow.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” (NIV) Do you know how you would like to be treated? Think about it for a minute. If you could briefly sum up how you would like to be treated it would look a lot like unconditional love. Jesus says IN EVERYTHING we are to love others unconditionally! That means whether we feel like it or not. Jesus does not tell us we can take into account whether others deserve our love. He doesn’t say we have the right to take into account whether they will appreciate our love. He just says IN EVERYTHING we are to treat others the way we would want to be treated. Our human nature wants justice and judgement, but God wants mercy and forgiveness. He wants us to be compassionate people who are humble enough to admit that we all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross. We all have sin, and we all have the ability to both receive and give forgiveness. The Lord tells us in Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (ESV) It’s easy to show love and honor to those who we believe deserves honor but it takes a commitment to God’s will to show honor to those who we don’t believe are deserving of our love and honor. Are you committed to do God’s will? Jesus loved us first; He loved us most and He loved us unconditionally. Do you love that way? You might have faith to move mountains and you might have a heart full of hope, but scripture teaches without love you have nothing. Who are you having trouble loving today? Who do you have in your life that it’s easier to say something bad about than good? Sure, they have given you the ammo, but you don’t have to fire the shot. Walk the walk. God says you have a supernatural ability to love others because He lives in you and loves through you. Submit your will to His today and pour on the love. Then you will really have something!
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ~John 13:34 (NIV)
Who are you having trouble loving today? Who do you have in your life that it’s easier to say something bad about than good?
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