Day 41 - Love

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the best-known chapters in the Bible. It is referred to as the “Love Chapter” and is used in many marriage ceremonies. It is fitting that love should be the first on the list of the Spirit’s fruit. Every Christian feels love. 1 John 4:8 tells us that “God is love.” The last verse in the Love chapter says that “the greatest of these is love.”

It is wonderful feeling to know that you are loved. This love from God is unconditional, transforming, and unchangeable. Because of this love, Christ died on the cross for us. This love is present in us even though we willfully sin. And because the Spirit lives in us—and He is characterized by love –we are to show love to other Christians, as well as those living in the world.

John 13:35 quotes Jesus, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” So how can we love others? By helping when it’s not convenient, by giving when it hurts, by spending our energy on the welfare of others instead of ourselves, by receiving hurts from others without complaining or fighting back—that’s how we love others. But this kind of loving is hard to do, isn’t it? However, that’s how “all men will know” that we belong to Christ.

John 15:12-13 tells us, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and He loved us enough to give His life for us. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love: listening, helping, encouraging, giving. Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the love you can, and then try to give a little more (Life Application Bible).

Can you imagine catching enough wind (that is, the Holy Spirit) in our sails (our lives) that we have enough love and more to share? Do you sometimes run out of spiritual energy when you are trying to love others this way? Think back to the story of the Good Samaritan. His love is instructive. It is perceptive, thoughtful, risky, engaging, and comprehensive. Jesus tells that story specifically to illustrate his kind of love, and how we display it.