Week 1: Loving Others Like Jesus Loves Them

For these posts I will be using the NIV Bible.  Today we will start in 1 John 4:19-21.

We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, his is a liar.  For anyone who does not loves his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, who he has not seen.  And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.


Although this passage seems pretty cut and dry, there is still a lot to gain from diving deeper into it.  Loving God isn't just about loving Him, its about loving your "brother" too.  But who is your "brother"?  Does that mean just the people I'm related to?  Or my friends?  Or just the people it is convenient to love?  NO!  He tells us to love everyone.  That includes the people we find it really difficult to love, the people who come from different backgrounds than us, and the people who get on our very last nerve.  If we are going to follow Jesus and love the Lord, we have to GENUINELY love everyone around us.  The Bible tells us in Romans 12:9 that Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  To me that means, no more fake loving on others.  I can't get away with "oh I love your skirt" or "where did you get that bracelet? It's so adorable" while in my head I think "I can't believe you're wearing that" or "I can't stand this girl, maybe if I give her a compliment I will be able to walk away without it looking rude."  No more Regina George-ing my compliments.

We all have that person (or more than one) that we can't stand, but God is telling us "yes, you have to love them too."  I have a few people I need to work on loving.  It isn't going to be an overnight fix.  In fact, it will probably take a conscious effort on my part every day for the rest of my life.  But what kind of Christian would I be if I couldn't carry out one of God's simplest commands? John 13:34 says A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  I am going to need to spend time thinking of at least one thing I like about each person and focusing on it.  Loving someone might mean only thinking and saying positive things about them.  I can't imagine that the act of loving someone is limited to only what you say and do in their presence.  Jesus loved all types of his "brothers," even the sinful tax collectors.  In Luke 19:1-10 we read about when Jesus visited Jericho and asked Zacchaeus (a tax collector) if he could stay with him.  All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"  If Jesus can love sinners, we should too.  We are all sinners.  Not one of us on Earth can say that we are perfect.  Who are we to judge who is more or less of a sinner than us?

I tend to judge people a lot.  I am not proud of it, but it happens.  My boyfriend and I have a running joke that I have a "judging" face that I put on.  This week I am going to work my hardest to keep that judging face on the back burner and to love on at least one new person each day that I normally wouldn't.  Seven new people to genuinely love on this week, that will be my challenge.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us your Word.  It truly is a road map to how we should live our lives.  As I start this Bible study, I pray that you guide me to the sections of your Word that apply at the time.  I ask that your voice shine through me so that I can bring you glory and that those reading this will be drawn closer to you.  Amen.