It’s February and you all know what that means, it is the “love month”. What better way to start off this month of love than to talk about how to love like Jesus.
As Christians, we should always strive to show love to others just as Jesus did. In this post, I am going to show you how to love like Jesus did even when it’s difficult.
Why Should We Show Love to Others?
The Bible says that we should “bear one another in love”. It also says that we should “love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins”.
Let me tell you, sometimes it is so hard to show the love of Jesus to others. Maybe this week you ran into someone who took great pleasure in being rude and nasty to you like I did. Guess what, we still need to show love to them (preaching to myself here).
The Bible says that even though we have never seen God, we can be confident that God lives in us because of the love that we show for others (see 1 John 4:12).
Even though the world hasn't seen God, they will know he exists because of how we as Christians treat them. Click To TweetLoving people is serious business. The Bible conveys this seriousness by saying “whoever doesn’t love does not know God because God is love” (1 John 4:8).
It doesn’t matter if you are jew or gentile, male or female, white or black. The only thing that matters is your faith expressing itself through love (see Galatians 5:6).
How to Love Like Jesus
Alright, you know why loving others like Jesus is important but you may be asking yourself, “how can I possibly love like Jesus”? Well, I am so glad you asked! There are a myriad of ways that we can show love to others just as Jesus did.
Ways to love like Jesus
- Love Your Neighbor As Yourself
We have all heard of the golden rule “treat others the way you want to be treated”. This rule started because the Bible encourages us to “love our neighbor as ourselves”.
Peter asked Christ once “who is my neighbor” and Jesus responded that it was anyone who was in need of mercy (and that’s all of us, right?). The Bible says that “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:10). The love of God in us will help us to love others the same way that we love ourselves.
Serve Others
- Try to Put the Needs of Others Before Your Own
The Bible says that “no one should seek their own good, but should seek the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:24). If we truly love others, we will try to put their needs above our own.
One good thing about being a social worker and working as a full time therapist is that my job always puts things into perspective and makes me look for ways to put others needs before my own (such as listening to them with empathy even when I do not feel well).
- Be Willing to Make Sacrifices
The Bible says that we should be willing to lay down our lives for our friends just like Christ was willing to give his life to save us (see 1 John 3:16).
We tend to quote this a lot when speaking of military men and women. We quote this verse in relation to the times that they have sacrificed their lives to protect us.
While it may be talking about sacrificing your life, hopefully some of us will never have to do that. We can still follow this scripture by making sacrifices to help others by serving them, giving up some of our time, giving of ourselves.
Be Kind in All Ways
- Seek Peace With Everyone
We need to strive to live in peace with other people.
Honey, believe me when I tell you I know that it is easier said than done. One thing that motivates me is 1 Peter 3:10-11. It says”whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:10-11).
I love life and want to see good days so this scripture helps to motivate me to seek peace with others at all times.
- Pray for Others
I have no problem praying for myself, my family, my friends, my church family, etc… but one thing that is very difficult for me is to pray for someone I don’t like.
The Bible says that we should “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us” (Matthew 5:44). Even though it is hard, we should pray for everyone (even those we do not like).
- Be Kind to Others
We show the love of Christ when we are kind to others. We should strive to be kind not just to people we know, but to strangers as well.
Hebrews 13 tells us that we should keep on loving each other and it also reminds us to show kindness to strangers because by doing that, some have actually been showing love to angels without knowing it (see verses 1 and 2).
- Forgive Others
The Bible says that love is patient and kind and does not keep a record of wrong things done (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-5). If we are to love one another, we should be quick to forgive their mistakes.
Conclusion
In this post, I have explained why it’s important to love others. I’ve also shared with you how you can love like Jesus. Some of the things you can do are to pray for others and forgive others.
What are some things you struggle with when it comes to loving like Jesus?
Believe me, I know that loving others as Jesus did is not always easy but as believers, it is what we are called to do. I love being able to love like Jesus by serving others as a therapist full time. What are some ways that you love like Jesus?
“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NIV)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love. Ephesians 3:16-17 (NIV).
Great Insight. Thanks for sharing
I love this, Miranda. I like to be kind everywhere I go. Hold the door, compliment their outfit, help where help is needed. By putting myself in another’s shoes, I can treat others the way they want to be treated.