Love One Another!

Recently, I've thought a lot about what it means to love. Often love is taken to two extremes. Either love is portrayed as something so deep, that it is not achievable. On the other hand, the word love is sometimes thrown around without any real meaning attached to it. During my class, and through my own study of 1st John, I felt that I came to understand love a little better, and particularly, the love of my Savior.

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitation [or Redeemer] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (1st John 4:10-11)

God loves us, even when we are unlovable. His love is unconditional, and is so great that he sent His only begotten son to suffer for our sins. Isn't it amazing, how easily we find reason to not love each other? We make excuses that in comparison have no weight. We are completely unprofitable servants to God. There is no way we can ever repay the debt we owe to our Savior. And yet, our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ love us continually. The primary song "I'm trying to be like Jesus" echos our need to learn to love others as they love us.

“I’m trying to be like Jesus;
I’m following in his ways.
I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say. . . .

Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”

We are all loved, and we should all love each other, not with our words only. But with our actions. In a world of fear and anxiety, love is a cure-all. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." (1 John 4:18). We may not be able to have perfect love NOW, but Christ does. And when we open our hearts to that love, he can cast away our fear and our doubts. Because of his love, he opens the door for us to love Him and each other!