Does faith in Jesus cause you to love others? Think about that.
You might have never connected the two parts of putting trust in Jesus and you loving other people together so let's look at the verse below that helps explain this to us.
Therefore I also, after I heard of YOUR FAITH in the Lord Jesus and YOUR LOVE for all the saints, (Emphasis mine)
Ephesians 1:15 NKJV
In the above verse we can see that the believers who put their faith in Jesus also had a love for the saints and demonstrated the love they had for the saints (other believers in Jesus).
Faith (what you believe) is contagious and affects other people. What was it that caused you to believe in Jesus? For me, it was the realization of the great love and value that Jesus has for me and him demonstrating that great love for me by dying on the cross for me. He accepted me as I am even though I could do nothing in return. See the verse below that shows this.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
The love that God has for you and that He displayed on the cross for you, is a love that is not based on how well you act or perform, you can't earn it, it's already yours! in other words it's not based on your good deeds or intentions or even bad mistakes. It's a love independent of your performance. When he demonstrated His love for you, you were a sinner, you wanted nothing to do with Him and yet He still greatly loved and valued you and showed you the extent of that love by dying for you on the cross. This love God has for us produces the following in our lives when we receive it and put faith in it. What do you think that is, before you carry on reading? God's love for you is independent of your performance, makes you whole (heals and restores any brokenness you might have) and matures you. How does love mature you and what does it look like? When you realize that the love that God has for YOU is independent of your right or wrong doings, it also causes you to realize that this is also how much He loves and values EVERY other person (no exclusions, despite their rights or wrongs). Therefore, when you put faith in that love, it will make you secure and cause you to love others independently of how good or bad they act towards you and you'll expect nothing in return. All because that's how Jesus loves you. Maturity is expressed in willingly and selflessly loving others (being a blessing to them) and expecting nothing in return. Therefore, if we truly believe in the type of love God has for us we will be secure in our value/identity in Him and it will cause us to love other people with no expectations of getting anything back.
How does this truth change your view of God?
How does this truth change and affect your relationship with other people?
Who can you share this truth with that will encourage them?
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