John 13: 34-35 A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you may also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.
So often we look at the outward things - even the religious things, such as going to church, studying and praying - as measures of our love. But these can all be done with an impure heart and as such are not effective. He wanted us to mirror His behavior, His love in all that we do.
His love goes so far beyond our ability to love that it is in fact incomprehensible to most. He asks us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, but to Him, our neighbor in fact includes our enemies. It is tough enough some days to love the folks in our own circles, let alone our neighbors. But that is the model that He laid out for us.
His Word is His love letter to us. That is where we need to start. Understanding and accepting His unconditional, immeasurable love for us will give us the power that we need to love others.
