Richard Roberts
At the time of the Last Supper, just hours before Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified, He stated His will for His apostles in plain, forthright terms: “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). All of His other commands to them are under this banner. “These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:17).
Friends, it is God’s will ― and it is always God’s will ― that you love others as He loves them. And, what does it mean to love people as God loves?
It doesn’t mean that you wink at their sins. No…you love them in spite of their sins. You do everything in your power to bring them to the Cross and to the forgiveness of Jesus Christ for their sins.
It doesn’t mean that you give lip service to love and move on. No… it means you love people to the point of doing whatever you can do to meet their needs.
It doesn’t mean that you love all mankind in a general sort of way. No… it means that you love people as you find them… your spouse and children who live in your house, your neighbor next door, your boss at work, your coworker on the assembly line next to you. We take people where we find them and love them as Jesus loves them.
To love as God loves ultimately means giving. Love compels us to DO something to meet the need in another person’s life. Love means planting seeds of faith in the lives of others so that the Gospel can take root and grow into a harvest of righteousness. Love means giving to God’s work so that souls might be won and lives delivered from the power of the devil.
Ask yourself as you seek God’s will today and each day: “Will this action of mine extend the love of Jesus to others?” If the answer is yes, you’re within the will of God for your life!