TODAY’S MEDITATION – Jesus taught us how to love, not how to feel… (John 13:34-35)

In these verses, Jesus says that our Christlike love to others will show we are His disciples. My brother, my sister, do people know you are a follower of Christ by your love for others? The saddest truth we see in our churches today is that many believers base their Christianity on their own feelings about themselves or others. That is a lie from the devil! The Bible clearly tells us that a true Christian has no wavering feelings because a wavering believer “ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways..” (James 1:8). You see, love is much more than simple warm feelings that you express towards someone one day, and then another day it lessens or disappears because the person disappointed you. Today, so many hypocrite believers fake their love for themselves or for others, disguising it into diligent prayers or service to the Lord. What does God see in their hearts behind closed doors, when they are alone? Jealousy, envy, criticism, petty bickering or signs of division, etc. My friend,even if you pray every second, if you have no love, your prayers go nowhere! Let me also add that it is not possible for you to say you love others while feelings such as (jealousy, criticism, etc.) are hiding within your heart because all it says is that you are not at peace with yourself! God is a God of order and He won’t use someone who is still fighting to let go of earthly matters or self-ambitions. You need to empty that vessel by letting go and submitting to His Spirit for Him to fill you, before He can use you according to His plans. How do you know your love is becoming more like Christ then? Well, can you truly help others when it is not convenient for you to do so by giving when it hurts you, by devoting your energy or time to others’ welfare rather than your own, by adsorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back? These are just a few example, this is the kind of love Jesus requires of us Christians… And when people notice it when they see it, then they know you are empowered by a supernatural power… because it is difficult to find sacrificial love among us nowadays because we are filled with self-ambition, which produces the works of the flesh in us (Galatians 5:19-21), or we resist the renewal of our minds that the Spirit of God wants to operate. Nevertheless, we, Christians should stop measuring our Christianity based on how we feel. Feelings change, but love is much than a simple feeling: ” Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). My friend… have you noticed the Bible defines love as a man’s character? Now mirror yourself in the light of the Word asking yourself these questions: ‘do I easily lose patience… do I still envy people.. do I easily boast or feel proud for my achievements, do I still delight in evil or get angry easily… do I easily dishonour others by accusing them rather than taking responsibilities of my own actions… do I feel you can trust the Lord???’ You see, it’s easy to say we love, while we have not really loved ourselves or anyone! Jesus taught us how to love, not how to feel about ourselves or about others. When you start feeling about yourself, trust that the devil will help you self-pity yourself and see only the negative things about yourself to keep you in bondage. So learn to love yourself first to be able to say you want to love the others. The same, learn to forgive yourself before you can try and forgive others… Because Jesus loves you and has already forgiven you! My brother, my sister, nobody can ever become a true Christian without being renewed by the Spirit of God: Saul was, and then he became apostle Paul; Peter’s fear were changed into great boldness and he was able to preach the Gospel before the very people he first denied Jesus… the price for the renewal of your mind is abandoning earthly matters and feelings to follow Jesus with love as our engine. Yes, even if it hurts to read this, Jesus answered the man who asked Him to allow him to go and bury his father before following Him: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:58-60). My friend, this man was putting his feelings before him… there is no feeling in serving the Lord. There is love and Love makes sacrifices! Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]