What do you do when you notice you aren’t really “walking in love” as much as you know you should? Come on, you know you can relate to this! Perhaps you argued with your spouse, raised your voice at your kids, or talked back to your boss or coworker, only to later regret it, knowing that you were in the wrong. We don’t always treat others like we should; that’s just a fact! But walking in the love of God is supernatural; it can’t be drummed up from a natural mindset.
To truly walk in and manifest the perfect love of God, you must be intentional about two things: first, receiving that love from God personally, and second, learning to love yourself. Yes, you heard me right. Love yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that! You can’t give away something you don’t have! Then you can love others by allowing that indescribable and overflowing love that wells up from within you to saturate your surroundings. Loving others with the true love of Heaven is always a byproduct of being bathed in God’s love personally.
Jesus was being questioned by the religious people of His day–again–and He outlined these great truths in a single brilliant response (see Matthew 22:35-40).
A master of Jewish law and tradition asked Him, “Which of the Old Testament laws is the heavy, major one? Many are light and minimal: but I want to know which one is the big dog.” (I’m paraphrasing a bit)
Jesus simply fires back with, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
You can fulfill the second commandment nearly without thinking when you have steeped yourself in the first commandment. Too many people try to jump straight to the second commandment without receiving the equipment to do so, which only comes from the first.
You don’t get very far when your gas tank is empty in your car. Likewise, you can’t expect to have a wellspring of God’s love bubbling up from within you to love others until you’ve got something on the inside worth giving out!
Here is a simple daily practice that has helped me immensely over the years to steep myself in the love of God: simply read, out loud, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 from the Amplified Translation, Classic Edition (I like how this translation brings out 1 Cor. 13 the best) over yourself. I do this nearly every morning when I wake up and every evening as I lay my head down to go to sleep. It goes something like this when I personalize it:
My love, the love of God in me, endures long and is patient and kind; my love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
God’s love in me is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. My love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
I do not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but I rejoice when right and truth prevail.
My love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
The love of God in me never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
Sharing God’s powerful, unconditional love is not possible outside of personal revelation and experience with that love. Trying to minister or bless others from any other place is, sadly, a counterfeit (although well-intentioned) human-kind of love. The world doesn’t need “human kindness,” the world needs God’s kindness. Your neighbors need agape love, not a watered-down human version. I encourage you… no, I challenge you– to take your love-walk to a whole new level. Steep yourself like a tea bag in the incomprehensible depths of the Father’s love for you! Let Him love you! Let your confession be “my love never fails, because I am full of God’s love!”
Be filled with love, revelation, and the power of the Holy Spirit!