Love is Not Optional

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 

English Standard Version (ESV)

     When I wake up in the mornings my prayer is, "Lord, today to the best of my ability, I want to love you with all my heart and I want to learn to love the people you put in front of me.
 I want to learn what that means."

That is how I usually approach each day.
God teaches us and will put people and circumstances into our lives to teach us to love.
 He'll speak gently to our hearts, "I want to love that person." Then he will guide us how to demonstrate his love to that person.

 As long as we think of love as an option, we will not walk in the kind of love that God intends for us to walk in. So often we know its the right thing to do but we choose not to because we don't want to.
Love is not an option, it's something that's going to happen in our lives if Jesus Christ is your Lord.

   Remember in  Luke 10:25 a lawyer asked Jesus, "What I should do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus asked him what does it say in the law? One of the reasons I think it was important that Jesus pointed him to the law is because there is no way we can accomplish this apart from God.

 The lawyer replied that you must love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.
How do you accomplish that? I believe it's accomplished by faith.

We must trust God to accomplish it in us and keep walking in the light He shows us. 

     How often do we pass up the opportunity to love those around us, to show kindness and extend mercy to others. Are we quick to listen and be kind or to judge and be critical?
You would be much less likely to judge and be critical of others if you knew where they had come from and had walked in their shoes.

   Allow the Lord to love others through you today. To listen compassionately instead of expressing your opinions. To not judge or point a finger but to speak the truth with grace as the Lord leads you. Are we willing to be vulnerable and let others know where you came from and what the Lord has done for you?

   Lord teach us today to get out of our comfort zone, to listen, to show compassion and to be ready to share what you ask us to, when you give us the opportunity. Give us ears to hear your still soft voice speak to our hearts when you want us to share and when to be silent and listen.  Help us to be teachable today so that you can lead us into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.

For further study today, consider this audio message. You can stream it here:



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