Seeing and Loving Others with God’s Heart
God always blesses those who are kind to the poor and helpless. They’re the first ones God helps when they find themselves in any trouble. The Lord will preserve and protect them. They’ll be honored and esteemed while their enemies are defeated. When they are sick, God will restore them, lying upon their bed of suffering. He will raise them up again and restore them back to health (Psalm 41:1–3 TPT).
Intimacy with God will inevitably lead to caring for the needy around us. When we experience God gently but passionately loving us, the result is that we love others. As John tells us, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
What does this love look like?
It is selfless. God loved us even when we were rebelling against Him, and we love others who do not love us back and can do nothing for us.
It initiates. “God first loved us.” He didn’t wait for us to make the first move; He loved us before we ever moved toward Him.
It gives. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). God loved; therefore, He gave.
When we love this way, we align ourselves with God’s heart for the world. And as a bonus, we experience a new level of intimacy with Him as we see what He is doing and hear what He is saying and then partner with Him in loving the world.
Next Steps
This may sound like a silly question, but have you experienced God’s love? Have you heard Him tell you what He thinks of you? If you’re not sure, ask God this week to tell you something new about how He loves you. Tell Him you’re not satisfied with just knowing intellectually that He loves you. You want an experience of His love.
Let God’s love so fill your heart that you can begin asking Him to teach you how to love others. You might start by asking Him to show you how He sees, and loves, the people around you.
Remember that when you walk into a room, you are walking in with Him. You carry His living presence, kindness, and love inside of you to share.
Blessing
I bless you this week with new eyes and ears to see and hear how God loves you. And I bless you with a heart to honor every opportunity to be who you are to the poor around you. Whether they are lacking in wealth and status or in love and peace, or even if they are caught in the most treacherous sin, I bless you with loving how God has loved you. Holy Spirit, fill all those reading this so they can see what You see, hear what You are saying, and love as You are loving the world. Let them know Your love so well that they cannot resist being Your loving and helping hand. - Karen Reneau
Rolan Wong