Faithful on Fridays Blog

Since God handcrafted the life of man into His image we know something in His character drove Him to such a spectacular deed: it was love. This overused word springs many pictures into our minds, loving pizza, loving our spouse, loving vacations, but God’s kind of love is so much more than that. His love is demonstrated, it’s tangible, and displays His spiritual identity.

God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10

God’s core values guided His actions and they’ll guide ours as well. His sacrificial love models for a believer how to treat people since His essence is love:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

There are 613 commandments in the Old Testament and Jesus said the ‘most important’ two are to love God first and everyone else second, no other commandment is greater than these (Mark 12:30-31). That means that self-sacrificing, non-reciprocal love is the target we aim for every day. Since the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5) poured out mega-love on us (Eph. 2:4), in appreciation we,

… consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, Hebrews 10:24

Hmmmm … what does that look like? Well, since God showed His love to you when you offended Him (Rom. 5:8) how about covering people when they offend you (Pv. 10:12)? Since God is love,

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

I know that’s a high bar but it’s also a lifetime commitment to love like Jesus. He walked this earth helping people and trying to improve their life; that can be your goal too. His core value or ‘love works’ were healing, delivering, accepting, and showing compassion to everyone whether they deserved it or not. 

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. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:34-35

Interestingly, Jesus declared that ‘new commandment’ to His disciples on Maundy Thursday after Judas betrayed Him and He loved them to the end of His life nailed to a tree.