Loving More Than We Do

Have any of us ever wondered if we can really love more than we already do, and if we could, what would it look like? We all know that love is an outward expression of an inner feeling. It is a feeling that begins deep within our soul. Honestly, some of us may need to reconnect with that inner feeling a bit more so that our outer expression is somewhat clearer to those around us. Perhaps the best way to analyze this question is to look at our actions and ask ourselves how would our actions change if we loved more?

Starting with those who we are supposed to love the most, what would our family see differently if we loved them more? What difference would our friends notice if we showed them more love? How about our brothers and sisters at Thrive or our coworkers or our classmates at school? What difference would they see in us if we chose to love them more?

We are told in 1 John 4:7-8, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Since Jesus is God and Jesus is living within us then we each possess the very embodiment of love. 

But how do we love more than we already do? This is easy. We simply need to follow Paul’s examples given to us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 where he explains that “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Whether it is with a family member or a friend, a coworker, someone at church or even a stranger, if we truly want to love others more than we do right now, then we need to practice showing others love as Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 13.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts and show us how to express more of the love of Jesus to our family, to our friends and to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pray that Thrive is always filled with the love of Jesus and that we show His abundant love to everyone we meet.

We truly need to ask ourselves, if we really want to love more, what are we willing to do differently than we are already doing. We know that God wants us to be more loving than we currently are, to do more than we currently do and to shine brighter than we currently shine. So starting today, let more of our actions show the love of Jesus to everyone we meet.