Love and Compassion
Still on the topic of love and compassion...
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he hasn't seen?
1 John 4:20 NKJ
Remember the description of love in 1 Cor. 13:4-8? Love is patient and kind. It is free from evil and empty of pride. It always assumes and hopes for the best believing that all people are made in the image of God and therefore they are valuable and should be treated with dignity and respect irregardless of what they have done or where they come from or who they know or what they do.
So if we are holding grudges or pre-judging others is that love?
Let's take this another step further....
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.
2 Cor. 5:16 NLT
We cannot trust our perspective of people and situations. Things are rarely what they "appear" to be. God's love for us enables us to see things the way He does. It gives us His eyes and ears so we can effectively reach out and help others.
When the love of God truly lives in us, our perspective changes. Choosing to look at things from God's point of view allows compassion to motivate us to respond to people with pure hearts.
Love is the defining characteristic of God therefore it should be the defining characteristic of His people.
Instead of trying to find reasons to exclude people, try to find reasons to include them.
Instead of only noticing our differences, focus on our similarities.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear and see what God does then respond to what He shows you.
Our love for God is expressed in how we love each other.
Heidirn
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he hasn't seen?
1 John 4:20 NKJ
Remember the description of love in 1 Cor. 13:4-8? Love is patient and kind. It is free from evil and empty of pride. It always assumes and hopes for the best believing that all people are made in the image of God and therefore they are valuable and should be treated with dignity and respect irregardless of what they have done or where they come from or who they know or what they do.
So if we are holding grudges or pre-judging others is that love?
Let's take this another step further....
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.
2 Cor. 5:16 NLT
We cannot trust our perspective of people and situations. Things are rarely what they "appear" to be. God's love for us enables us to see things the way He does. It gives us His eyes and ears so we can effectively reach out and help others.
When the love of God truly lives in us, our perspective changes. Choosing to look at things from God's point of view allows compassion to motivate us to respond to people with pure hearts.
Love is the defining characteristic of God therefore it should be the defining characteristic of His people.
Instead of trying to find reasons to exclude people, try to find reasons to include them.
Instead of only noticing our differences, focus on our similarities.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear and see what God does then respond to what He shows you.
Our love for God is expressed in how we love each other.
Heidirn
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