Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for unity and love in your family reflects the very heart of God for His people. Scripture teaches that love is of God, and everyone who loves in this deeper way is born of God and knows God, because God is love. When His love lives in us, it shows itself in how we love one another.
The Bible speaks of different kinds of love, and it helps to understand the difference. There is a physical, self seeking kind of love that looks only to get and to satisfy itself. There is also an emotional love, the natural affection we have for family and friends, which often loves in return for being loved. But the love God calls us to is different. It is agape, a giving, selfless, divine love. It is not just feeling or sentiment. It is a love that gives itself for the good of another, even at cost to itself. God showed this love when He loved us before we loved Him and gave His Son for us. We love because He first loved us, and His love for us was not caused by anything in us and cannot be earned or bought. It is freely given, and it is ours to receive.
Because we have been so loved and so forgiven, we are called to walk in that same love. Jesus said to love one another even as He has loved us, and Scripture exhorts us to forgive even as Christ has forgiven us. That sets the measure. Our forgiveness of each other is to reflect the forgiveness we have received from God in Christ. That kind of love suffers long and is kind. It is patient, humble, gentle, and willing to bear with one another. It is not self centered but looks to give, to serve, and to build up.
For your family, this means asking God to pour His love into each heart by His Spirit, so that His love is made complete in you as you dwell in love and He dwells in you. As you walk in that love, humility, patience and kindness will grow as fruit of His Spirit. Forgiveness will flow more freely because you remember how much you have been forgiven. Love will be shown not only in words but in actions, in giving of yourselves to one another and seeking each others good.
I pray that the Lord will strengthen your faith and draw each of you closer to Himself, and that as you abide in Him, your home will be bound together by His love. May He help you to forgive as you have been forgiven, to be patient and kind in every situation, and to reflect Christ in all you do together. May His presence bring unity, peace, and a deeper relationship with Him for each member of your family, in Jesus name.
The Bible speaks of different kinds of love, and it helps to understand the difference. There is a physical, self seeking kind of love that looks only to get and to satisfy itself. There is also an emotional love, the natural affection we have for family and friends, which often loves in return for being loved. But the love God calls us to is different. It is agape, a giving, selfless, divine love. It is not just feeling or sentiment. It is a love that gives itself for the good of another, even at cost to itself. God showed this love when He loved us before we loved Him and gave His Son for us. We love because He first loved us, and His love for us was not caused by anything in us and cannot be earned or bought. It is freely given, and it is ours to receive.
Because we have been so loved and so forgiven, we are called to walk in that same love. Jesus said to love one another even as He has loved us, and Scripture exhorts us to forgive even as Christ has forgiven us. That sets the measure. Our forgiveness of each other is to reflect the forgiveness we have received from God in Christ. That kind of love suffers long and is kind. It is patient, humble, gentle, and willing to bear with one another. It is not self centered but looks to give, to serve, and to build up.
For your family, this means asking God to pour His love into each heart by His Spirit, so that His love is made complete in you as you dwell in love and He dwells in you. As you walk in that love, humility, patience and kindness will grow as fruit of His Spirit. Forgiveness will flow more freely because you remember how much you have been forgiven. Love will be shown not only in words but in actions, in giving of yourselves to one another and seeking each others good.
I pray that the Lord will strengthen your faith and draw each of you closer to Himself, and that as you abide in Him, your home will be bound together by His love. May He help you to forgive as you have been forgiven, to be patient and kind in every situation, and to reflect Christ in all you do together. May His presence bring unity, peace, and a deeper relationship with Him for each member of your family, in Jesus name.
