I wonder which word would win, if I were to ask everyone to answer the following question: If you had to sum up Christianity in one word, what would it be?  

I think love would be at the top of the list. 

Everything we do as God’s children must be built on the foundation of love. Whether through our words or our actions, love must always be an overflowing source. When people encounter us, they should be overwhelmed by love. 

Such love is only possible if we allow God’s love to overwhelm us. God is love. Jesus is love. The Holy Spirit is love. And we see and experience this love right there on the cross on Calvary. 

God loved people so much that He had to make a plan to prevent people from not reaching Him. The plan was that Jesus would have to bear people’s punishment in their place. Self-sacrificing love is the highest act of true love. 

When you realise this and allow yourself to be overwhelmed by God’s love for you, you’ll find yourself compelled by gratitude to emulate His actions and, in turn, love others as He did. Self-sacrificing love. 

It’s just a shame that we often don’t manage to do this. For some reason, when things get tough, we resort to loveless behaviour, and then the people closest to us, in particular, have to pay for it. 

Ronelle tried to find answers in her own life about the struggle with love: 

Love is certainly not easy, but I’ve become aware of how jealousy and self-centeredness go hand-in-hand with lovelessness. These are the little nudges in people’s lives (including mine!) that prevent us from fully living God’s great commandment of love for our neighbour.

This lovelessness I am talking about involves that great love. The kind where I must be able to climb over the barbed wire of anger and unforgiveness. It takes crawling, crying, addressing, and praying to have the courage of our convictions to acknowledge and overcome them.

Our selfishness and desires are what truly obstruct love. By constantly wanting more, we miss the opportunity to genuinely love. We are our own biggest obstacle, and when jealousy enters the picture, it creates a desert devoid of the water of love, a place where love withers and dies. 

That’s why, every day, we must consciously put ourselves in the background. Even before we leave our beds, we should tell the Father that we don’t want to be at the forefront, but rather choose to walk behind Him, in love. 

Let’s take John’s words seriously: 5But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other. 6Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed. 

If we succeed, the world will look different.   

Scripture
2 John 1:4-6 

Reflection
Do you live love everywhere?
Where is there still work to be done?
How can you fix it? 

Prayer
Father, thank you for Your overflowing love. Help me to live it out towards everyone I meet today. Amen.