The Powerful Root of Practical Love

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. (1 John 3:14)

So, love is the evidence that we are born again — that we are Christians, that we are saved.

Sometimes the Bible makes our holiness and our love for people the condition of our final salvation. In other words, if we are not holy and not loving, we will not be saved at the judgment day (e.g., Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:10). This doesn’t mean that acts of love are how we get right with God. No, the Bible is clear again and again as Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.” No, when the Bible says that we are saved by faith but that we must love people in order to finally be saved, it means that faith in God’s promises must be so real that the love it produces proves the reality of the faith.

So, love for others is a condition of future grace in the sense that it confirms that the primary condition, faith, is genuine. We could call love for others a secondary condition, which confirms the authenticity of the primary and essential condition of faith which alone unites us to Christ, and receives his power.

Faith perceives the glory of God in the promises of future grace and embraces all that the promises reveal of what God is for us in Jesus. That spiritual sight of God’s glory, and our delight in it, is the self-authenticating evidence that God has called us to be a beneficiary of his grace. This evidence frees us to bank on God’s promise as our own. And this banking on the promise empowers us to love. Which in turn confirms that our faith is real.

The world is desperate for a faith that combines two things: awestruck sight of unshakable divine Truth, and utterly practical, round-the-clock power to make a liberating difference in life. That’s what I want too. Which is why I am a Christian.

There is a great God of grace who magnifies his own infinite beauty and self-sufficiency by fulfilling promises to helpless people who trust him. And there is a power that comes from prizing this God that leaves no nook or cranny of life untouched. It empowers us to love in the most practical ways.

John Piper 

Leading by Serving

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” JOHN 13:14

 

PONDER THIS

Jesus is the head of the Church, and yet we find in John 13 that Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. And He said in John 13:13, “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.” Jesus never said He was not Master; Jesus never said He was not Lord, but listen to what He said next: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Husband, I want to suggest that you find ways to wash your wife’s feet. That’s the way you show your headship in the home. It is servant leadership. Jesus said, “I am the Lord and Master, but a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church.” A leader serves. Your wife is not there to serve you; you’re there to serve her.

What are some other ways Jesus served the Church?

How does this model challenge the world’s view of leadership?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out the ways you can think of that Jesus served the Church. Consider how you might serve and love others by following the example of Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Leading with Christlike Love

“For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.”  EPHESIANS 5:23

 

PONDER THIS

The word head here speaks of a leader. The husband is the head of the wife; that is, he is the leader. But he’s not the dictator. The husband is not some sort of a top sergeant to be beating his wife over the head with a Bible club. This doesn’t speak primarily of a chain of command; this is a line of responsibility. That’s a much better term. To have headship is to have responsibility. That means if a wife is to submit to her husband, she is to submit to her husband for loving leadership. And God gives the model. What is the model? Verse 23 says, “as also Christ is head of the church.”

How does Christ lead the church?

What implications does this have for how husbands are to lead their wives?

PRACTICE THIS

What responsibilities has God given you to lovingly serve those around you? Take action in obedient love toward another today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Let God Write the Story

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?’” MATTHEW 25:37

 

PONDER THIS

A while back, I received a letter from a man. He said, “Forgive me for taking so long to write this letter, but I want to tell you how God used you in my life.” He continued, “It was on Merritt Island where you used to pastor. I was a long-haired surfer going down the road with my surfboard, and you stopped and picked me up. It was a hot day. And you talked to me about Jesus. I laughed at you. I made it as if it had no impact on me at all. You let me out. I went on my way, but I was never, ever able to forget what you said to me until I gave my heart to Christ. Jesus saved me, and now I am the pastor of a very wonderful church, and I just want to thank you.” After some thought, I vaguely remembered picking that boy up. You see, sometimes the things we do we don’t put in the books, and the things we think we have done God does not put in the books. But you will be wise to let God keep the books.

Has anyone ever told you a way God used you, even if you didn’t know it at the time?

How does this reality encourage you to continue in faithfulness, no matter the outward response?

PRACTICE THIS

Are there people who have encouraged you in the Lord that you’ve never told? Call them, text them, or write them a letter today to thank and encourage them.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Ideas Have Consequences

The aim of our charge is love. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Victor Frankl was imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau during the Second World War. As a Jewish professor of neurology and psychiatry he became world renowned for his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, which sold over eight million copies.

In it he unfolds the essence of his philosophy that came to be called Logotherapy — namely, that the most fundamental human motive is to find meaning in life. He observed in the horrors of the concentration camps that man can endure almost any “how” of life, if he has a “why.” But the quote that stirred me recently was this:

I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and in the lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers. (“Victor Frankl at Ninety: An Interview,” in First Things, April 1995, p. 41.)

In other words, ideas have consequences — consequences that bless or destroy. People’s behavior — good and bad — does not come out of nowhere. It comes from prevailing views of reality that take root in the mind and bring forth good or evil.

One of the ways that the Bible makes plain the truth that ideas have practical consequences is by saying things like, “Whatever was written in former days was written . . . [that] we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). The ideas presented in the Scriptures produce the practical consequence of hope.

Again, Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love” (1 Timothy 1:5). The imparting of ideas through a “charge” or through “instruction” produces love.

Hope and love do not come from nowhere. They grow out of ideas — views of reality — revealed in the Scriptures.

Another way the Scriptures show us that ideas have consequences is by using the word “therefore” (1,039 times in the NASB). “Therefore” means that what follows comes from somewhere. For example, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Or: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Or: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).

If we want to live in the power of these great practical “therefores,” we must be gripped by the ideas — the views of reality — that go before them and stand under them. Ideas have consequences. So, let’s bring all our ideas under the authority of God’s word.

John Piper 

Give What People Need Most

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” JOHN 13:34

 

PONDER THIS

Love is not giving others what they deserve but giving them what they need. A well-known preacher went into an airport restaurant. The waitress came out and she was not very friendly. She said, “What do you want?”

“Well, I’d like some breakfast.” So he gave the order. She went back into the kitchen, came out again with a bad look on her face, slapped the food down, and said, “You want anything else?” He said, “No, ma’am. That’s fine. Thank you.” So she turned and went away. He ate his breakfast, filled out the check, and left a $20.00 bill on the table.

He turned and started to walk out and the waitress said, “Hey, you! You left some money on the table.” He replied, “Well, don’t they tip around here?” She said, “Wait a minute. You left a twenty-dollar tip after the way I treated you?” He said, “Yes, ma’am.” She asked, “Why would you do that?” He said, “I was watching you. I could tell you were hurt. You must have some problem, and I just thought I would show you some love.” She began to cry. She said, “You don’t know the problems I’ve had. I left a child today sick. Coming to work, my old car broke down. The boss got all over me for being late. Yes, I’ve had some problems.” And this conversation gave the man an opportunity to share the Gospel with this lady. Do you know what that is? That’s Christ-like love. That is not giving her what she deserved; it was giving her what she needed, and what she needed right then was love.

How has God shown you even more love in Christ than the example in today’s devotion?

How might you display this love to others?

PRACTICE THIS

Take action to show love to someone else today by giving not what is deserved but what is needed.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Seek Your City’s Good

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. . . . But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:4–5, 7)

If that was true for God’s exiles in Babylon, it would seem to be even more true for Christian exiles in this very “Babylon-like” world. What, then, shall we do?

We should do the ordinary things that need to be done: build houses; live in them; plant gardens. This does not contaminate you if you do it all for the real King and not just for eye service as men-pleasers.

Seek the welfare of the place where God has sent you. Think of yourself as sent there by God for his glory. Because you are.

Pray to the Lord on behalf of your city. Ask for great and good things to happen for the city. Ask that they happen by God’s power and for his glory. Never lose sight of the ultimate good that the city needs a thousand times more than it needs material prosperity. Christians care about all suffering — especially eternal suffering. That’s the greatest danger every city faces.

But neither God nor his people are indifferent to the health and safety and prosperity and freedom of the city. We all want these things, and Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). In fact, the Lord says in Jeremiah that loving your city is a way of loving yourself: “In its welfare you will find your welfare.”

This does not mean we give up our exile orientation. Peter says that Christians are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11) and Paul says “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). In fact, we will do most good for this world by keeping a steadfast freedom from its beguiling attractions. We will serve our city best by getting our values from “the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). We will do our city most good by calling as many of its citizens as we can to be citizens of “the Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26).

So, let’s live — let’s do so much good (1 Peter 2:12) — that the natives will want to meet our King.

John Piper 

 

What Binds the Hands of Love?

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3–5)

The problem with the church today is not that there are too many people who are passionately in love with heaven. The problem is not that professing Christians are retreating from the world, spending half their days reading Scripture and the other half singing about their pleasures in God all the while indifferent to the needs of the world. That’s not happening! The people of God are not so full of love to God that they spend half their days in his word.

The problem is that professing Christians are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half their day making money and the other half loving and repairing what they spend it on.

It’s not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love for the lost and hurting of this world. It is worldly-mindedness that hinders love, even when it is disguised by a religious routine on the weekend.

Where is the person whose heart is so passionately in love with the promised glory of heaven that he feels like an exile and a sojourner on the earth? Where is the person who has so tasted the beauty of the age to come that the diamonds of the world look like marbles from the dollar store, and the entertainment of the world feels empty, and the moral causes of the world are too small because they have no view to eternity? Where is this person?

To be sure, he is not in bondage to the Internet or eating or sleeping or drinking or partying or fishing or sailing or putzing around. He is a free man in a foreign land. And his one question is this: How can I maximize my enjoyment of God for all eternity while I am an exile on this earth? And his answer is always the same: by doing the labors of love. By expanding my joy in God, no matter the cost, if by any means possible I might include others in it.

Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love!

It is not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love and make them ineffective. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort and praise — these are the cords of selfishness that bind the hands of love. And the power to sever these cords is Christian hope. “We heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:4–5).

I say it again with all the conviction that lies within me: it is not heavenly-mindedness that hinders love on this earth. It is worldly-mindedness. And therefore the great fountain of love is the powerful, freeing confidence of Christian hope.

John Piper 

Moving Toward the Brokenhearted

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound . . .” ISAIAH 61:1

 

PONDER THIS

You and I now live in a new kingdom, and we have kingdom authority, but this authority must be enforced according to what our King wants. Knowing what our King wants is rooted in knowing why Jesus came and who He came for. We were slaves of Satan, in bondage to his dark kingdom, and Jesus came to set us free. And to what kind of people did He come? To those who are bankrupt. The word poor here means beggars. Without Jesus Christ, we are bankrupt, and Jesus came to preach the Gospel to the bankrupt.

He also came to the brokenhearted. Do you know anybody today who is brokenhearted? If you look around, you’ll see many people laughing on the outside, trying to mask the sorrow and the emptiness on the inside. Jesus came for the brokenhearted. Then He said, “As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). Your neighbor, the people you work with, they’re the brokenhearted ones. They’re the ones that are bound. They’re the ones who are blind. They’re the ones that are bruised. Jesus came for them, and you are also called to move toward them.

How does Jesus’ heart for the hurting impact you?

Who are the bound, brokenhearted, blind, and poor around you? How can you share the love of Christ with them?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time to share the love of Christ with someone in your community who is brokenhearted.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Love One Another Gladly

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

No one has ever felt unloved because he was told that the attainment of his joy would make another person happy. I have never been accused of selfishness when justifying a kindness on the basis that it delights me. On the contrary, loving acts are genuine to the degree that they are not done begrudgingly.

And the good alternative to begrudgingly is not neutrally or dutifully, but gladly. The authentic heart of love loves kindness (Micah 6:8); it doesn’t just do kindness. Christian Hedonism forces this truth into consideration.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:2–4)

Read these sentences in reverse order and notice the logic. First, being born of God gives a power that conquers the world. This is given as the ground or basis (notice the word “For”) for the statement that the commandments of God are not burdensome.

So, being born of God gives a power that conquers our worldly aversion to the will of God. Now his commandments are not “burdensome,” but are the desire and delight of our heart. This is the love of God: not just that we do his commandments, but also that they are not burdensome.

Then in verse 2 the evidence of the genuineness of our love for the children of God is said to be the love of God. What does this teach us about our love for the children of God?

Since love for God is doing his will gladly rather than with a sense of burden, and since love for God is the measure of the genuineness of our love for the children of God, therefore our love for the children of God must also be done gladly rather than begrudgingly.

Christian Hedonism stands squarely in the service of love, for it presses us on to glad obedience, not just begrudging obedience.

John Piper 

Subject:Let Goods and Kindred Go

Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. (Hebrews 10:32–35)

The Christians in Hebrews 10:32–35 have earned the right to teach us about costly love.

The situation appears to be this: In the early days of their conversion, some of them were imprisoned for their faith. The others were confronted with a difficult choice: Shall we go underground and stay “safe,” or shall we visit our brothers and sisters in prison and risk our lives and property? They chose the way of love and accepted the cost.

“For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property.”

But were they losers? No. They lost property and gained joy! They joyfully accepted the loss.

In one sense, they denied themselves. It was real and costly. But in another sense, they did not. They chose the way of joy. Evidently, these Christians were motivated for prison ministry the same way the Macedonians (of 2 Corinthians 8:1–9) were motivated to relieve the poor. Their joy in God overflowed in love for others.

They looked at their own lives and said, “The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life” (see Psalm 63:3).

They looked at all their possessions and said, “We have a possession in heaven that is better and lasts longer than any of this” (see Hebrews 10:34).

Then they looked at each other and said — perhaps sang — something like Martin Luther’s great hymn:

Let goods and kindred go
This mortal life also
The body they may kill
God’s truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever

John Piper

Afraid to Love

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” JOHN 13:34-35

 

PONDER THIS

Lawlessness abounds in the world. There is brutality at every corner. It causes us to be suspicious. It causes us to retreat. It causes people to say, “Do not open the door no matter who knocks on it unless you know who they are.” It tells us if a person stops by the side of the road, looking like he or she is in trouble, be very careful before you stop to help that person. Our instinct is “Don’t.” Don’t help. Don’t get involved. Keep your doors shut. Don’t become a part of this situation or that situation. We withdraw. We stop loving. Why? Because of the fear of lawlessness.

We are frightened, intimidated, and afraid to love. We especially have no desire to love those who are very lost—those we believe to be wicked and vile. Yet just before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus Christ gave this “new commandment”: “Love one another; as I have loved you.” This includes those people that are hurt, lost, and broken. You are to love people as Jesus Christ loves. It’s going to be hard, yet this is how our Savior leads us to live. Love others in the same sacrificial and abundant way He has loved us.

Who are the people you are scared to love? What do you fear might happen if you extend love to them?

How has Christ loved you? How can you love others in that same way?

PRACTICE THIS

Extend love to someone who is hard for you to love.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Love One Another Gladly

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

No one has ever felt unloved because he was told that the attainment of his joy would make another person happy. I have never been accused of selfishness when justifying a kindness on the basis that it delights me. On the contrary, loving acts are genuine to the degree that they are not done begrudgingly.

And the good alternative to begrudgingly is not neutrally or dutifully, but gladly. The authentic heart of love loves kindness (Micah 6:8); it doesn’t just do kindness. Christian Hedonism forces this truth into consideration.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. (1 John 5:2–4)

Read these sentences in reverse order and notice the logic. First, being born of God gives a power that conquers the world. This is given as the ground or basis (notice the word “For”) for the statement that the commandments of God are not burdensome.

So, being born of God gives a power that conquers our worldly aversion to the will of God. Now his commandments are not “burdensome,” but are the desire and delight of our heart. This is the love of God: not just that we do his commandments, but also that they are not burdensome.

Then in verse 2 the evidence of the genuineness of our love for the children of God is said to be the love of God. What does this teach us about our love for the children of God?

Since love for God is doing his will gladly rather than with a sense of burden, and since love for God is the measure of the genuineness of our love for the children of God, therefore our love for the children of God must also be done gladly rather than begrudgingly.

Christian Hedonism stands squarely in the service of love, for it presses us on to glad obedience, not just begrudging obedience.

John Piper 

Real Love Produces Maturity

“…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” 

EPHESIANS 4:15B-16

 

PONDER THIS

The way all parts of the body work together is beautiful. Joints connect different parts of the body to be a whole. When Paul spoke about the joints, he spoke to not only unity but flexible harmony. My elbow is a joint—it’s what connects my forearm to my upper arm. So, it keeps me connected, but it’s also flexible and enables me to bend my arm. That is how the Body of Christ should be, but some people get stiff. We get spiritual arthritis. And rather than having this flexibility, we become rigid.

When I studied human anatomy and physiology in college, I found out that we have synovial fluid that lubricates these joints. When the cartilage becomes dry and the synovial fluid is not there, the joint gets inflamed, swollen, stiff, and painful. Just like our physical bodies need the right amount of synovial fluid to keep our joints healthy and moving, the Body of Christ also needs “synovial fluid” to keep it healthy and active.

The synovial fluid in the Body of Christ is love. When we love one another, we don’t inflame one another, and we don’t become immobile. We become mature in stature: we become like Christ. We become mature in stability: we’re not blown about. We become mature in speech: we know how to speak the truth in love. And we become mature in service: we serve one another, and the Body works together to serve others.

What have you done intentionally to love those in the Body of Christ?

When have you struggled with being flexible in the Body of Christ? How did you get through it?

PRACTICE THIS

Intentionally love and pour into someone at your church.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Willing to Serve?

PRAY OVER THIS

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

 

PONDER THIS

Love does not give people what they deserve. Love gives people what they need. And love is willing to serve the lowest. Some of you may think of yourself as above changing diapers and wonder if maybe you could teach a Bible class somewhere. But there is no task too menial for love to do. This includes the work in the kitchen, the work in the nursery, or anything else. Love does whatever needs to be done. What motivates people to do that? In John 13 we see the Lord of Glory, who knew He came from God and was going to God, who made the Universe and scooped out the seas. He placed the mountains, flung out the sun, moon, and stars. And He washed fishermen’s feet.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Paul essentially said, if Jesus forgives me, then surely, I can forgive you, right? Of course. If Jesus washed my feet, then surely, I can wash yours. Remember Jesus’ words: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).

How do you serve those around you? What are jobs that most people overlook that you could help with?

Consider what Christ has done for you. How does that motivate you to love others?

PRACTICE THIS

Do a task you normally overlook to serve someone else today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Do You Love Others?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet?’” John 13:3-6

 

PONDER THIS

Think of someone who has done you wrong or disappointed you. Perhaps it’s someone who has failed you. Perhaps it’s someone who has abused or misused you. Perhaps it’s someone who has betrayed you. The Bible tells us how to deal with that individual. We are to love as Jesus loved. We all need love—true love. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). You're to love others as Jesus Christ loved you. It’s going to be extremely hard. It feels completely against our nature, but it is our call in Christ.

Do you know what most of us do? We fight for our reputations. We talk about how we went from nothing to something. The Lord Jesus didn't talk about how He had gone from lowliness to highness. As a matter of fact, our Lord had come from highness to lowliness. Jesus, knowing the Father had put everything into His hands, laid aside His garments, took a towel, and washed fishermen feet. He served selflessly and humbly.

That is true love. Pride drives wedges; humility always builds bridges of love. If you are going to love as Jesus loves, your love will be selfless.

Who in your life loves selflessly?

Think about people who have wronged you. How do you treat them? How does that need to change in light of this passage?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk to a mentor about how you treat those that have wronged you. Pray and consider how you can love others selflessly.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Why We Should Love Our Enemies

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27)

There are two main reasons why Christians should love their enemies and do good to them.

One is that it reveals something of the way God is. God is merciful. 

• He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) 
• He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:10) 
• Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32) 

So, when Christians live this way, by God’s power, we show something of what God is like.

The second reason is that the hearts of Christians are satisfied with God and are not driven by the craving for revenge or self-exaltation or money or earthly security. 

God has become our all-satisfying treasure and so we don’t treat our adversaries out of our own sense of need and insecurity, but out of our own fullness with the satisfying glory of God. 

Hebrews 10:34, “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property [that is, you didn’t retaliate against your adversaries], since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” What takes away the compulsion of revenge is our deep confidence that this world is not our home, and that God is our utterly sure and all-satisfying reward. We know that we have “a better possession and an abiding one.”

So, in both these reasons for loving our enemy we see the main thing: God is shown to be who he really is as a merciful God and as gloriously all-satisfying. 

The power to be merciful is that we have been satisfied with God’s mercy toward us. And the ultimate reason for being merciful is to glorify God, that is, to help others magnify him for his mercy. We want to show that God is magnificent. We want our love, by God’s mercy, to make God look great in the eyes of man.

John Piper 

God’s Love Manifested Through Me

PRAY OVER THIS

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13

 

PONDER THIS

I heard about a pastor in Georgia who went to visit a couple who was new in the church, and he noticed they had a little dog. And it was evident they loved and cared for the dog very well. The pastor asked, “Do you have any children?” When the pastor asked this, the woman began to cry and walked out of the room. The husband said, “We did have a son. He was our only child, but our son died and is in Heaven. And this little dog it may seem we make too much of was his. The love we’re pouring on this little animal is just our way of saying we love our son. You may think we love this dog too much, but I tell you we love him so much because our son loved him so much.”

When I heard that story, I thought, “That is so much like the Church.” We’re not much, but I tell you there’s somebody who loves us. His name is Jesus. Why do I love the Church? Because Jesus loves the Church. What a circle of friends we have because we have the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. We are to love others as Jesus loved us. That’s what friendship means.

What would change if you started to love others in the same way Christ has loved you?

Who has been an example to you of sacrificial Christ-like love?

PRACTICE THIS

Love someone in a servant-hearted way today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Do You Handle Conflict?

PRAY OVER THIS

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18

 

PONDER THIS

When considering reconciliation within the Church, the first thing you need to do is to consider your relationship with the person who has sinned against you. He or she is your brother or sister. This is somebody that has come out of the womb of grace, somebody who, along with you, calls God Father. And you must consider that relationship even when you are at odds with that person. You may argue, “Maybe he’s not a brother. Maybe he’s never really been saved. Maybe he just has his name on a church roll.” Well, if he’s not a brother, then he’s lost and he’s blind, and he deserves the pursuit of God in unity and prayer even more because he needs to be reconciled to God. But if he is a brother, then to harm him is to harm yourself because you’re both spiritual siblings and members of the same body.

How do you treat people when you feel at odds with them? Does that reflect Christ? Why or why not?

Why do you think we often abandon a loving response when we start to have conflict with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Express love to someone with whom you have had difficulty.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Always Watching Out for Number One?

PRAY OVER THIS

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

John 13:34

 

PONDER THIS

What is real love? What is Christ-like love? It is selfless love! Selfless love means not being primarily concerned about “number one.” And selfless love is real humility. Unbounded love and pride can never dwell in the same heart! Only in pure humility can there be genuine love.

Many times, we excuse ourselves when we’re irritable if we’re tired or worn out. We’ve had a hard day. People have mistreated us. And we bark and snap at people and say, “If you knew what I’ve been through, you’d understand.” But Jesus, facing the cross, still showed love. Jesus, knowing that the hour was coming when they would crucify Him, still steadfastly loved them. If your so-called love cannot stand the test of hard times, you don’t have real love. If you just love when times are good, any person can do that. But Jesus loved selflessly under extreme pressure.

What are some excuses you make for not loving people?

What are some ways you can selflessly love those around you?

PRACTICE THIS

Practically love someone in a selfless way today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers