Day 3: You Can Love the Way God Loves
“Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love
has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to
us.“ Romans 5:5 (AMPC)
It may seem impossible to love others the way God loves
them, but I’m here to tell you that’s a lie. The Scripture above shows us that
God’s love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. If you’re a
believer, then you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, since your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19
Now, understand that since the Holy Spirit resides in you,
everything God is resides in you too (the Holy Spirit is God, right?). God’s
love is in you, you just have to make the choice to act on it. So don’t allow
yourself to accept such thoughts as “Oh, it’s just too hard to love them. I
can’t do it!” It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you’ve chosen not to in the
past, and that’s how you’re used to reacting. But now you’re learning a better
way (1 Corinthians 12:31).
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16
It’s really important for you to remember that you are more
than just a physical body (go back to the Introduction if you’re not sure what
I mean). It’s your flesh that wants to “bite and devour” others and get
payback. But inside, the Holy Spirit will nudge you to forgive, to be kind to
them, and to resist behaving rudely. It’s up to you to choose which prompt you
will follow.
Jesus wouldn’t have commanded us to love without giving us
the power to obey it, and God did just that when He poured His love into your
heart. You can do it!
Homework:
At the end of Day 1, I had you read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
and say “God” wherever you saw “love.” Today I want you to replace “love” with
the word “I” like this: “I am
patient… I am kind…” and so on.
If it bugs you somehow to read it that way, then go back and
reread the Scriptures you’ve seen in today’s devotion. It is God’s will for you to walk in His love, so He has no problem
with you tapping into that by speaking His Word over your life.
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