When we abide in Jesus, our lives produce the God kind of fruit that blesses others, we learnt this last week. One of those fruits is love.
Matthew 22:36-40 says, ““Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus answered him, “Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you. This is the great and supreme commandment. And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend in the same way you love yourself.’ Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.””
We have been going through John 15 because the first commandment is to love God. Not just a passive, yeah, yeah, I’ll show up to church on Sunday when I can or when I need something love, because that is not love. We are commanded to love God with a real genuine love that infiltrates our whole being. We discussed this verse and loving God in previous posts, linked below. Now that we have learnt how to love God and walk with God and be in relationship with God, how do we love people as we love ourselves?
This happens when we learn to accept God’s love for us in our lives. When we begin to understand that we are fully known by God. He knows our every thought and our every sin, yet, He still loves us completely. When we accept that love for ourselves, we begin to understand just how valuable we are. When we see value in ourselves, we don’t let people walk all over us or talk to us any kind of way, we set boundaries. When we see value in ourselves, we do not settle for what’s available, we wait for God’s best. We understand that we have a Father in heaven who is for us and who will supply all of our needs from His glorious riches which have been given to us in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:19.
In the same way, when we look at other people around us, we need to see them as people with value. When Jesus considered our value (all human beings not just Christians) He thought we were worth dying for. We are invaluable in His eyes and that’s how we ought to see ourselves and others. We don’t get to judge people by their sin or their mistakes because that is not how God treats us. We walk with our heads held high because we have a Father who forgives, not because we are perfect. So likewise, we should love people, messy as they may be. However, we also should set healthy boundaries, so we do not compromise who God is calling us to be.
When we see value in people, we treat them as such. John 15:12 says, “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.” So, God is not asking us to love each other with a worldly kind of love, He is asking that we love each other in the same way that He loves us. That we talk to people the way God talks to us. That we treat them the way God treats us. God always wants to bless and protect us, that is His heart towards us. Is that our heart towards the people in our community that we want to bless and protect them? Or do we throw them under the bus first chance we get? Are we praying for the people in our world? Are we checking in on them to see how they are? Are we treating people with kindness and respect?
How we treat people matters to God, so it should matter to us. We all have room to grow when it comes to loving people. It is a heart thing. John 15:12 AMP says, “This is my commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.” Selfishness is something that exists within us and arises from our sin nature. You do not teach a 2 year old how to be selfish, but they know how to snatch things from you and say, “Mine!” You have to teach them how to share. So naturally, and without God, we are selfish. Abiding in Jesus and allowing Holy Spirit to do a work in us, kills that selfishness.
Loving people the way God loves them takes getting to know God and His love for us. When we know God, we know how He speaks, how He responds to things or how He holds us when we think He should push us away. It teaches us how to be good representatives of Jesus to those around us. God is attractive, everyone (except the Pharisees, which speaks volumes in and of itself) wanted to hang around Jesus. God’s love is attractive, we sometimes mess it up when we become hypocritical (by subjecting others to a different standard than we subject ourselves) or religious like the pharisees.
God commands us (meaning it is not a suggestion, this is something we must do) to love and unselfishly seek the best for one another. Are you loving and unselfishly seeking the best for those God has placed in your life and those you encounter as you go about your day?
Love and blessings,
Melissa Tsingano.
LINKS:
Loving God Posts
Loved by God Posts
Heavenly Whispers Blog 
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