Paul - “He (Epaphras) has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.” (Colossians 1:8)
How would people describe you? Would they describe you by height, weight, skin tone, hair color, ethnic background, personality, skills, vocation, etc? Would their description of you include that you have a great love for God and people? Epaphras described Christians in Colossae to Paul as people who had a great love for others.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus was defining what it would take for someone to be His disciple. He said in John 13:34-35, “Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” So, “Does how you treat others demonstrate you are a real disciple of Jesus”?
“Love” is a very misunderstood word. We say things like, "I love my spouse. I love America. I love pizza. I love my dog. I love you.” The problem is we use the word “love” in so many ways that we’ve really watered down or diminished its meaning.
The Bible says that love is controllable and it’s a matter of commitment. Jesus said in John 15:12, “I command you to love each other in the same way I love you.” Sometimes, we say things like, “I can’t help it if I love that person,” or “I can’t help it if I no longer love that person.” But Jesus’ words tell us we have control over whom we love. And He commands us to love other people despite how they’ve acted. That means we must love them regardless of how they’ve treated us. Love is also something we do. It’s an action, not just a feeling. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:18, “Let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.” John’s words remind us that too often, we try to love with words but not with actions, and that’s not real love.
What does it take to love others like the Christians in Colossae loved people? It takes accepting others like Jesus accepts us (John 6:37), valuing others like Jesus values us (Luke 12:6-7), forgiving others like Jesus forgives us (Colossians 3:13), and believing in others like Jesus believes in us (1 Corinthians 13:7). And when we love people like that God will use us to bring transformation to their lives and to our world.
Prayer - Lord, remind me daily of how much You have demonstrated your neverending love for me, and help me to love others in the same way.
Reflection - On a scale of 1 to 10, how loving would people describe me to be? And what steps can I take to be more loving to those close to me and to those around me?
