Ponder: How Does Understanding God's/Christ's Love Compel You To Love Others, Even Those Who Are Difficult To Love?
Scriptures To Consider:
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
-Romans 5:8
We love, because He first loved us. -1 John 4:19
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. -John 15:9–13
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Reflections from the PrayerBowl Team:
Christ, my Ultimate Role Model, exemplifies selflessness. He chose to empty himself, to separate from God, and become obedient to death for me. He became a humble servant, carrying my sin and shame to the cross. His act was driven by pure LOVE, thinking of me before himself, and dying for me when I had nothing to offer him.
As I grow in my understanding of this incredible love, I feel deep gratitude. I want to imitate his attitude and his ways to all people, those who are easy to love and even those who are challenging.
Throughout my faith I've always been taught to commit to Jesus's love. Through this commitment I've come to understand that His love is not something we receive but something we are called to share. Christ loves us with patience and it is always unconditional. When I reflect on this incredible love he has for us it reminds me that loving others - (even those who sometimes are difficult to love )- is not about my feelings but my faithfulness to Him. I also know that His love teaches me that grace isn't given only to someone who deserves it, it has also been extended to me. He always loves me even when I have done wrong. For this, I know how truly blessed I am to have Christ in my daily life.
The Shack is one of my all-time favorite books. In the story, Papa, who is God the Father in the image of a tall black woman, is quoted many times saying, "I am especially fond of that one" for every person she meets or recollects. Here is a passage from the book: She stopped and looked at him. “Mackenzie, I have no favorites; I am just especially fond of him.”“You seem to be especially fond of a lot of people,” Mack observed with a suspicious look. “Are there any who you are not especially fond of?” She lifted her head and rolled her eyes as if she were mentally going through the catalog of every being ever created.“Nope, I haven’t been able to find any. Guess that’s just the way I am.”
In today's loud-in-your-face world, I come across a significant number of people who are hard to love. I do my best to acknowledge that person is not only a child of God, but a child of God who is loved by the Creator of all things and a Father who is especially fond of them.
