Love One Another as I Have Loved You Includes Building up Others

The purpose of life is to love the LORD and others with the resources God entrusts to us. The by-product of such a life is the top-shelf, blue ribbon, heart-thrilling, abundant life Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). Nothing compares to it.

Sky-scraping earthly achievements cannot fulfill us. Neither can riches, fame, or power. Pursuing those illusions, like an addict lusting for the next heroin fix, never satisfies us. Fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives does.

How much we love God and others foreshadows how much of Jesus’ joy we experience (John 15:11). We can describe our relationships with others as building, bombing, or blowing off.

On some days, we perform all three with the same person! We lose our patience, temper, and composure, and the bomb doors open.

We say and do hurtful things we later regret. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9-10 NIV).

Furthermore, we behave as though some people were beneath us. Perhaps we do not want to get involved in their messy current problems. That would cost us resources we do not want to sacrifice. We blow them off. We ignore them. Our light does not shine (Matthew 5:16).

We do not behave as Jesus would in the same situations. And (attention, believers!), we are in those situations to live for and represent Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:15)! He told us to love one another as I have loved you.

Yet, we still bomb people or blow them off instead of building them up. That is living like those who profess no religion (1 Corinthians 3:3). Ouch! I have been there and done that!

Jesus’ dying to pay the penalty for our sins (Romans 5:8) showed us the highest form of loving others (John 15:13). His entire earthly life demonstrated how to love.

He was a sparkling clean vessel God the Father used to pour out His love. Jesus unconditionally committed Himself to build up and bless imperfect people through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14, 18; Luke 10:21; Acts 1:2; Acts 10:38).

That was His assignment, and He executed it flawlessly (John 8:29). We have the same assignment. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV).

We can do it through the power of that same Holy Spirit as we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). Like the Wall Street financial market report, may our Christian relationship report daily reflect that building is hitting a record high while bombing and blowing are at record lows! What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.   #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources

God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,714 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,936 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.

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