1 John 4:19-20 We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

There are countless scriptures about love. Well, not countless, but a lot! I checked my concordance and there were over 500 times that love is mentioned in the old and New Testament. Do you think there would be so many if we “got” it? If we understood how important love is? I have found, in my bible research, that God repeats Himself when the topic is dear to Him. It says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that if you do great things for people but aren’t operating in love it’s counted for nothing. That’s strong…

I knew I wasn’t operating in love when I did things for other people or in my interactions with people, so I starting praying about it. Each day I ask God to 1) show me how much He loves me, 2) show me how to love Him the way He loves me, and 3) show me how to love people the way He loves them. He has definitely softened my heart in that area but I’m not going to stop praying those prayers yet because I still have a very long way to go. I’m still way too selfish and self centered.

It is easy to love the people you are close to like your friends and family. You know, nice people. The people you have picked and choose to be around. But what about the people that grate on your last nerve? What about the surly cashier, the guy who cuts you off in traffic, or your boss? Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who use you.” Wow! Just WOW! Is He kidding?! No I don’t think He is.

So, how do we do this? Good news…we can’t. Not in our own strength or our own wisdom. So we pray and ask Him to fill us up with His love. He has an infinite supply and daily He gives us what we need for that day if we ask Him. We can’t give what we don’t have.