07/24/2020
Clothe Yourself in His Love
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
─ Colossians 3:14 NLT
In our devotional yesterday, you learned three essentials necessary to experience a life of love. (If you missed it, you can go back and read it now.) As promised, let’s go a little deeper.
- Choose daily to live in the love of God.
God loves you no matter what you do. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. God never stops loving. Whether you deserve it or not, God’s love never ceases. The love God lavished on you should inspire you to give love to others, even if you feel like they don’t deserve it.
The key is to be a conduit of God’s love and not a dead end for His love. In other words, we are not to just receive His love in the form of a dead end, where love stops with us. We are to give His love where His love flows in and through us.
- Overcome past perceptions of love.
A depth of love exists that many people never experience. Why? They believe that love is merely a feeling or an emotion. Do you remember when you fell in love for the first time? Your feelings were strong. You were in love. True love is not a feeling—it’s a decision, a choice.
God intentionally chose to love us. He said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Realize God chooses to love you and that we are also called to intentionally give love.
In our verse today, Paul said, “The most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony” (NIV).
- See people as God does.
God views people differently than we do. People are valuable to God. It doesn’t matter what they have done, or who they have failed. God values everyone. Put on your “Jesus glasses” and make a conscious effort to see others the way God sees them.
Today’s One Thing
Review the 3 essentials above. Which one do you struggle with the most? One way you can clothe yourself in love is to read the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. Then read the following verses again aloud. You’ll notice the verses have been personalized with the word “I” in place of the word love.
4 I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud.
5 I do not dishonor others, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, and I keep no record of wrongs.
6 I do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth.
7 I always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.