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In order to love others well, we must be able to accept God’s love for us. If we aren’t able to accept God’s love for us, then we aren’t able to love other people. And when we are unable to love people and do so properly, our relationships suffer.

God’s love for us was proven by the cross. God so loved us that He crucified His only Son to redeem us from sin, hell, and the grave. It’s amazing that He went to such lengths to save us; to show us His love.

In John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commands.” If we love Him then we will keep His commands and want to obey them. Since we’re commanded to love one another (John 16:17), then we know that it is not optional and requires our action. God’s Word is simple, we complicate it. Loving others is a commandment. When we don’t love others, we are in disobedience and that is sin. Oftentimes, we want to justify our actions towards others instead of humbling ourselves before God and being responsible for our own behavior. When you see Jesus face-to-face in heaven, He’s not going to ask you what others did to you to cause you to live how you lived. Jesus is going to ask you how close you lived in obedience to His word.

Loving others is hard, many of us can be unloveable at times. But the question is, do we love Him? 1 Corinthians 13 is a great “mirror” to use to examine ourselves and whether we are walking in love. Can you compare yourself to its description and say that you are patient? Kind? Are you self-seeking; do you dishonor others? Are you easily angered? Do you keep a record of wrongs?

Many things are hard, but we get to choose “our hard”. We can choose to live in obedience and reap blessings, or we can choose to live in disobedience and reap the curses of sin. God or self? Choose you this day Who you will serve (Joshua 24:15).