Thoughts

• The Great Commandment exhorts us to love the Lord and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40). We learn how to love as we learn God’s word (1 Timothy 1:5). But we need to remember that without God’s help, it is impossible for us to love well.
• In Jeremiah 17:9 the prophet says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Our tendency is to be selfish and proud rather than being humble and selfless. Love is not self-seeking, and it is not proud (1 Corinthians 13). So we definitely need God’s help.
• Two verses in the New Testament are very encouraging. In Romans 5:5 Paul says “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” And in Galatians 5:22 he says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Paul starts with love for a reason; if our love is genuine then the other characteristics will tend to fall into place. Loving God’s people should be a high priority for each and every one of us, as we depend on the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.