Living in the Spirit
July 2, 2023
Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:40-42
‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
John 13:34
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
John 15:12-13
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Romans 13:8
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
There are no conditions placed on any of the recipients of our love–no skin color, no sexual identity, no level of financial worth, no nationality, and no age.
The hardest challenge in living this commandment is dealing with people with whom we not only have nothing in common, we totally disagree with how we understand God’s love.
Strongs* indicates that the word love used in the scripture above is agapáō which means embracing God’s will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power. And actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). Christ living His life through the believer.
Thank God for grace because I am unsure I ever love as fully and completely as Jesus. We must understand that we must allow the Lord to love through us. I heard a songwriter being interviewed on TV recently when asked where he gets his words for his songs. He replied that he did not know. They just came to him, and he sometimes wonders from where they came. When we have trouble loving another person, we need to open our hearts to let the Lord love through us. The results may indeed surprise us.
Prayer: Lord, create clean hearts in us so we can transmit your love appropriately. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/25.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.