November 30, 2020
It Depends On Others
We come to part three of this series. In Part One we focused on how our loving actions stem from our love for God, our Master. Part Two taught us that our actions are shaped by our own choices of who to serve, ourselves or the world or God. Today we will consider that growth in our Christian walk depends on others.
It really does.There are so many facets that a growing spiritual life entails, but I wanted to focus on our view of others for a moment. We know we are commanded by the Lord to love others, but how much? How often? Why is it so important?
The first and best place to look for answers is always the Bible, so let’s go there. Here is what Jesus says :
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 NIV
How loving He is to share His commands so we can be successful in serving Him and God properly. He points out that EVERYONE will know we are following Him, just because of the way we love! That’s a pretty amazing statement! Loving others tells them about Jesus:)
It is easy to love someone who is nice to us. It is usually easy to love other Christians because we are one in the Lord. But what if others are not nice or Christian? I found a verse that I don’t remember reading before!
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:5-6 NKJV
God, us, and others…We all relate to each other. Depending on our love for God, love for ourselves and love for others, we make choices that reflect our level of commitment to each other and to God. It is all relative. Those choices, made based on Jesus’ command to love will determine if we grow stronger in our relationships or weaker. That is the underlying theme of this series. Everything is relative, but love is the bonding agent between us all. Love is the motivation. Love is the answer.
Paul is talking to the Colossians about giving grace to non-believers. He suggests we speak carefully, with grace and wisdom and use our time wisely. We will draw people to want to know Jesus when we treat them as Jesus would. The wisdom Paul says to use is found in God’s Word, in great supply!
Dear Father:
Thank You for guiding our time in Your Word. You teach us so much. Your best for us is that we desire to do our best for others. Please guide as You love to do, giving us a glimpse of the “big picture” of how important it is to always relate with love. Thank You for the abundant supply of inspired words You gave to the authors in the Bible, that guide our actions. You make it possible for us to live for You and love for You in a world that sometimes doesn’t. We love You so much! Amen.
GROWwork:
List one positive change you can make to improve your relationship with God. Find a verse to encourage you to do that this week.
Pray for love and grace to relate to others this week. Look for opportunities to use the bond of love to draw others to Jesus.
Love and prayers to all. Have a great day!
Tina
Glory in the Morning 