| Be Zealous in Love |
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1Corinthians 13:3 (NIV), 1Peter 4:8-10 (NIV)
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. *Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. *Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
In John 13:35, Jesus referred to loving one another as a clear sign of our discipleship. In other words, one of the ways to tell that we are becoming better disciples of Christ is by an increase in our love for one another. Jesus wants us to love each other the way He loves us, John 15:12. The only way we can accomplish this is if more of the life and nature of Jesus are formed in us. This needs to be our utmost desire.1John 2:5 instructs us that practicing God's Word perfects God's love in us. Both our love for God and our love for others grow and develop as we grow spiritually by yielding to God's Spirit and being doers of God's Word. Our love for God and our love for each other are fueled as God's great love for us becomes more real to us and in us. God's loves makes us whole and able to love others unconditionally.
We must zealously express our love to others. God so loved the world that He gave. From worshiping God, to drawing near to Him, to walking in His ways, to preaching the gospel, to reaching out to the lost, to using our gifts and abilities to minister to others, we must do all these things zealously. We must give hope, show care and concern and we must forgive and have mercy on others. We must touch lives and make them better than they were before we met them. We must humble ourselves and sacrificially love others as Jesus did for us, Phil.2:1-8. However, this love must flow from within. Everything we do must be born out of genuine love. The love in our hearts is what gives value to the work that we do.
PRAYER FOCUS: Tell God you want to draw nearer to Him and tell Him you want to love others more like Jesus loves you.
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