The Love That Comes from God

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NKJV)

The Bible is full of teachings about loving our neighbor. This is a truth to which God attaches particular importance, so much so that He included it in the Ten Commandments. If we take the time to carefully analyze the profound meaning and fundamental purpose of loving one another, we will all understand that this is what the world lacks today. For if there were love, we would not be where we are today.

Love for our neighbor is so crucial that Paul tells the Thessalonians that he hopes the Lord will increase and abound in love among them, even though they already show love for one another. It is your love for your brother that prompts you not to judge his actions and behavior, but to help him improve. It is also this same love, inspired by the Lord, that will give you compassion for others. Our churches today need the love that comes from God to grow, for their current reality is similar to that of the world.

You can love others, but if this love is a natural love, dictated by emotion or personal interests, sooner or later it will fade like a flame. For the day your brother wrongs you, that love will turn into hatred. But if God causes it to grow and abound in you, no matter what wrongs he commits, you will be quick to forgive him and say, like Christ on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." This is the love that comes from God.

May the grace and peace of God be with you all.