LOVE

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1Corinthians 13:13

The Bible is pretty clear on this one, love God, love one another, love yourself, or put simply: just love.

Romans chapter 12 tells us many ways in which we are to act in love. We are to honor one another above ourselves. We are also supposed to honor ourself. We should share with those in need, and bless each other instead of cursing each other. Do not partake in revenge. Don’t be proud or conceited, and don’t distance yourself from those you think are of lower position than you. Your worth and their worth are the same in God’s eyes, and that worth is extraordinarily high. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

It is easy to see love with your children. You love them, so you take care of them right? We clothe them, make good food choices for them, let them play and bike, and run for exercise. We spend time with them, and we build them up. We (should) talk positively to them, and help them recognize their worth. We also discipline them when needed, because we love them.

When we love ourself, we take care of ourself. We should spend time with ourselves. We should make good food choices, and get exercise. We should build ourself up with positivity not negativity. We should also be disciplined, in our behavior and our choices. (more on positivity in another post)

We also need to love one another in some of the same ways. “Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” – Romans 15:2. We should not drag each other down with insults and gossip, but should bring positivity into someone else’s life. We need to show that we love them, and maybe you are the only person in their life who is a positive influence. Maybe there is a person in your life that needs at least one person to show them that love, so be that person. Build up your neighbor and help them recognize their self worth, just as you build up yourself and your children.

It is hard to love everyone. There are people you just can’t stand, or don’t like, or are aggravatingly annoying. I find that if I pray for my own heart to be opened, for patience and compassion to fill me, then it is much easier to love them. It is easier to be a friend when I pray for these things:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with

Compassion

Kindness

Humilty

Gentleness and

Patience”

Colossians 3:12

If we pray for these to be always present in our hearts, then we will be able to love more, and love better.