Love Differently – Even When It’s Difficult

“Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

I didn’t talk to that person who so boldly and brashly walked through my door. Not the first time or the second, and I’m sure the occasions will continue to arise. I did not even look at them. But I let them stay, and I didn’t bite back. Slow progress, and different from the way I want to react to their brash presence in my home - but God is different. His thoughts are not my thoughts nor are His ways my ways. If we are to follow Him genuinely, we have to obey the way He wants us to love with the people in our lives. Throughout Scripture, God is crystal clear about what our priorities are to be:

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

“'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).

Love God. It’s repeated over and over, and always before the command to love others. We cannot love others without first loving God in the devoted, worshipful, obedient way we are designed to. We need Him, fully and wholly, in order to be able to love other people the way we are called to. Different love. Godly love. Christ-centered love. Spirit-filled love. God-ordained love. We won’t get it perfect. So take the pressure off and just begin to try. One bit at a time, the Lord is faithful to grow in us a patience and a capacity to love under pressure.

Allowing God to lead our lives gives us a new perceptive on people and situations. If we are willing to surrender our reactions and situations to Him, He will show us those people and situations from a different angle. Not necessarily understanding all of the why’s and how’s, but different.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35).

The legacy I most want to leave this life with is love – to love other people differently. Even to love myself differently, in the way God does! Love has a powerful impact. Sometimes we see the evidence of our obedience to love others right away. Other times, we may never know if the love we were called to pass on was received at all. That’s OK. Obedient love, coming from a heart whose obedience is motivated out of love for God, brings glory to God. Godly love is different. It’s simple, but powerful.

“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thangs through him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:16-17).

God Bless, and glory up.

More from this author
Trust in the Unchanging Power of God
What Does Consistent Faith Practically Look Like?
The Importance of Remembering God

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/fizkes

Meg is a graduate of Ashland University. She is a writer, author, editor, and digital content creator. She stepped away from her job in Internet Marketing in 2008 to raise her daughters, which gave her passion for writing a chance to shine through her blog, Sunny&80… Life within the Love of Christ. Meg has served as a Children’s Worship Team Leader and Middle School Leader for her local church. She founded and led the Breakfast Club Bible Study for Tweens, has served as a Young Life Leader and Committee Member, and led Women’s Bible Study. She has also volunteered as a content creator for her local church, studied Bible/Ministerial Training through Global University, completed COMPEL PRO Writers Training, and is Ethically AI Certified. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the team at Salem Web Network. You can find her entire library of books on her Amazon Author Page.