(NKJV): John 13:34 = “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
(CEV): John 13:34 = “But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you.”
Love is not a feeling, but it’s how you treat people, no matter how you feel about them especially people you don’t particularly like: a way you decide how to treat them no matter how feel about them – love an action, not a feeling. Love is patient, kind, forgiving (always be the first to say ‘I am sorry’) – the more you walk in love the lesser the enemy can attack you.
Matt 5: 43-47: v44 – “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
Msrt 12: 30-31 – “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
John 15:12-13 – “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you…Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:17 – “These things I command you, that ye love one another.”
Love is almost certainly the most misunderstood word in the world. We dilute its meaning by overuse: ‘I love my wife, I love my country, I love pizza.’ Giving and receiving love are difficult when we don’t totally comprehend what it means. People love to talk about love. ‘Love, love, love; all we need is love. Love is the answer. Love conquers all… God is LOVE. I love pizza! I love my car’. Yet if we stop and think about it, don’t we sometimes reduce the whole subject of LOVE down to the level of a catchphrase on a saying even?
Thus, we need to clear up a couple of misconceptions. We think love is a feeling – a sentimental knot in your stomach. True love does create feelings, but it is more than a feeling. A second misconception is that love is uncontrollable. Have you ever said, ‘I fell in love’ – as if you had stumbled? We say, ‘I can’t help it if I’m in love,’ or the opposite, ‘I can’t help it; I just don’t love him (or her) anymore.’ The fact that Jesus Commands us to love one another means that we do have control over whom we love and whom we do not.
You do not know what love is if you are just loving those who can love you back .Start Praying for your enemies & be good to people who have mistreated you, love the unlovable. Learn to love the unlovable: We can love the unlovable because at the new birth Rom; 5, 5 (‘…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost…’) happened to us, and that love is strong to love the ‘unlovable’
Love, at its core, is two things. First, love is a matter of choice. ‘Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity’ (Colossians 3:14 NIV). Notice those two small words, ‘put on’. Like you choose the clothes you wear each day, you choose the attitude you will display. So, love is controllable. Second, love is a matter of behaviour. ‘Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth’ (1 John 3:18 NIV). It works like this: when you reach out towards someone with genuine love and concern, your feelings towards that person change. And even if they don’t return your love, God is Pleased with you. That’s Reward enough.
Walking in love is good for your health, did you know that? It is true! Medical science has proven it. Researchers have discovered that hostility produces stress that causes ulcers, tension headaches, and a host of other ills. Be careful how you treat people – Treat people right, & show them respect, treat them the way you want to be treated. How you treat people is a measure our spiritual maturity
People may not remember what you said to them but they will always remember how you made them feel. – MAKE EVERYBODY FEEL IMPORTANT.
