Growing in God's Love

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us. (Romans 5:5)

God filled our hearts with His love, when we embraced Christ as our Savior. We now have the potential to love as Christ loved. God's love seeks the best of others without asking for anything in return. It is altruistic and selfless in its devotion to God and man. But we do not always display this nature in our relationship with God and people. How can we learn to grow as lovers of God and others?

One way is to spend time in worship, which helps us grow in our devotion to God; and prayer, which enables us to express God's love towards those we intercede for. Another way is to meditate on scriptures that focus on the topic of love. God's word is a seed that when planted in the soil of our hearts, will bear fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love... (Galatians 5:22).

The third way we grow in love is through obedience to the written word of God and to the voice of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:5 says, “But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.” Our obedience to God is not always tied to our feelings. We may not always feel loving toward a particular person, but when we reach out to the individual in obedience to God, we are displaying Christ's love.

Let's practice loving God and others. We will not always get it right. We will stumble and fall, but the Lord will help us to grow as children of God's love.

Dear Father,

Thank you for depositing within me your unselfish love. Help me to live in a way that expresses this love to You and to those around me. Thank you for being patient with me when I fall. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.