REALLY LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Rom. 12:9-10 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  NLT

      What do people do when they fall in love with each other? How do lovers treat each other? There is so much emphasis placed on love these days; yet, so many of us act in unlovely ways. Why is it that people who love each other can’t seem to get along with each other? Could it be that we have bought into the wrong bill of goods? Could it be that we have built the foundation of our relationships on the wrong understanding of what love really is?

       God is love, so we must start there. If we are ever going to make love work, we must learn how to treat one another as God treats us. We can't be perfect lovers, but we certainly can come a whole lot closer to God's love than we normally do. God defines his love in a practical way in I Cor. 13:4-8a. We need to strive to live out His kind of love and not what is so commonly practiced in the world.

      Any attempt to "love" apart from God's love is not real love. Don't be like those who are pretending to love their spouses, children, neighbors, or friends. Love them as God loves them. I am convinced that if we were to really get serious about how we love each other, we would turn the world upside down for Christ. We may not change the world, but certainly we can help change those in our own little worlds.

      Who in your life could benefit from God's love? Will you be the one to love them even as God loves you?   You may not change the world by living life and loving others God’s way, but you may change one life for all of eternity.