Loving God And Loving Others

Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest commandment in the law and He replied:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV)

According to Jesus relationships really matter.  First, we need to have a loving relationship with our Heavenly Father and then, when we establish that, we are more capable of having a loving relationship with our family, friends and acquaintances. 

Relationships take time!  In order to have a relationship with someone we need to spend time with that person, hearing what they have to say and responding to that.  In our relationship with God we need to listen to what He has to say through His word in the Bible and also through seeking Him in prayer.  As we submit to God’s ways, we will find ourselves being built up by the love of God for us and in turn we will be more forgiving and loving towards others.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  (1 John 4:11-12, 16 NIV)

A loving relationship with God is central to our life as Christians and persons in recovery. Some of our personal relationships may have become the focus of frustration, heartbreak, or confusion, perhaps for an extended period of time. Indeed, some individuals entwined in our history may have died or exited from our lives and healing change may seem at first glance, impossible.  But, with God, all things are possible. Choose today, with God's help, to begin to put right any relationship that is in need of healing. 

We love because he first loved us.  (1 John 4:19 NIV)

©2015 Partners in Hope