A Daily Dose of Love

Ephesians 4:29-32 ESV
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

We begin by monitoring the words that come out of our mouths. We make a commitment to avoid any words that are not good for building up and giving grace to the hearer. We call on the help of the Holy Spirit to help us in our new found commitment to show love every day.

Acknowledging that we can only experience one thought and one emotion at a time, we chose to experience love and kindness and avoid bitterness, wrath and anger. We avoid malicious gossip and slander at all cost. We actively seek opportunities to show love.

Let each of us practice saying at least one thing that builds up another person every day of our lives. If we renew that pledge each morning and do not rest until we fulfill it there will be such a reduction in hostility, judgment, and plain meanness among us.

Can you imagine the love that will flow in the world from this simple change in our approach to each day? Can you imagine how it will transform your life if you make a commitment to first seek to uplift someone.

1 John 4:20-21 ESV
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

How will your brother witness this love mandated by Jesus Himself? We easily say that someone should just know that we love them, but this is a weak excuse for neglecting our duty to show love. We can show love in the smallest kindnesses. We can take the time to share a contagious smile with a loved one. We can look for opportunities to provide a small assistance to a stranger. We can make the act of showing love an active part of who we are.

We can examine ourselves on a daily basis. Are we irritable with our loved ones and kinder to strangers? Do we feel that those who love us have an obligation to contend with our moods? Can we start our commitment to build up at least one other person before we leave the confines of our home?

1 Corinthians 13 New International Version (NIV)
 1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 1
2 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Keep this beautiful scripture tucked safely in your heart as you start your day and see how easy it will be to get into the habit of a daily dose of love.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!