Love – the Greatest Hope for Our Relationships

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

─ 1 Corinthians 13:13

God holds relationships in high esteem. He created men and women in His image for fellowship with Him. The Bible is filled with messages that demonstrate and even command us to love God and love one another above all else. Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest. He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37 – 39)

It’s not a coincidence that most of us struggle in this area. John 10:10 says, the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. His number one focus is to separate us from God and from one another. Past hurts can taint our perception of love and how it works, tempting us to build walls in our hearts to protect ourselves from pain. Often that can lead us to loneliness and isolation.

That’s why it’s important for us to choose to cultivate and to nurture the relationships God places in our lives. The second part of John 10:10 gives us hope: Jesus came to give us an abundant life.

The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. We have the ability to choose to live in His love, and to let it flow from us to others. His love provides us a way to forgive, to break down the barriers that keep us separated from healthy relationships and to love supernaturally.

Today’s One Thing

Think about your relationships. Do you have a relationship in need of repair? Ask God to show you how to demonstrate His love to that person today.

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