Scripture to Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
God has commanded all of us to love each other. God laid this out in the Old Testament and then showed us the perfect way to love by sending His Only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ loved perfectly and modeled for us how we ought to love each other. Loving others is hard, because, as we know, loving others is never about how we feel, but it’s an act of our will. Jesus tells us in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” So, everyone will know that we are a faithful follower of Christ by watching how we love others. We read today in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 that the believers in Thessalonica loved each other well. But God led Paul to challenge them, and of course us, to excel even more in love. God never wants us to get comfortable thinking we are doing fine in loving others. God does want us to love, but He desires us to grow in our love for others every day. God gives us His perfect love and fills us with His love because His Holy Spirit lives in us. Apart from God, we’re incapable of perfect love because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Because God lives in us, we are able, and more than capable to love, so let’s love well.
Challenge & Application
1. What did God teach you today about loving others?
2. Who will you love well this week so that they know you are a Christ follower?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!