34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
John 13:34 (ESV)
“Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did.”
– C.S. Lewis
No one in the history of the world has loved as completely as God. Our best view of that love was through Jesus.
He loved well and He called us to do the same.
So how do you do that? Love like Jesus…
If you ask 5 different people, you’re likely to get 6 different answers.
In essence, though Jesus loved like this:
1. Jesus loved God, and not just the ‘love ya’ kind of way. He spent time with God. He walked away from others to be alone with God. He knew God’s word and submitted Himself to God’s will. He spent hours at a time in prayer and told everyone He met about God’s love. It was the foundation for every other way He would love in the world.
2. Jesus would spend time with people, especially if no one else would. Jesus went to the homes of the rejected. He ate with sinners, told them their value, and offered an eternal relationship with them. He washed their feet, endured the ridicule of the social class, and he prayed for them.
3. Jesus forgave others. Not just those that committed ‘little sins’, while dying on the cross Jesus prayed to His Father…”Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” You can not be in relationships with others unless you are willing to forgive…
forgive deeply…
forgive regularly.
4. Jesus served others. Service is one of the most obvious indicators that you are acting in love for someone. Not because it’s your job or you get paid for it, but you choose to serve others rather than seeking to be served. Jesus cared for the blind and the lame. Jesus washed the feet of His followers. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve.
Being the physical embodiment of love, this list could go on forever, but if you are seeking to love like Jesus, perhaps you should start with loving God, spending time with people (especially those who are hurting, broken, and generally not lovable), forgiving others, and serving as many people as you come in contact with.
On this Valentine’s Day and every day, love in ways that matter.
Love like Jesus.
Pastor Mark