No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:12 HCSB
There have been times in my life when I have have been deeply hurt by what someone has done or said to me. At other times there have been people who have taken advantage of me or others. I have been able to forgive these people in my heart, but I have found it hard to actually love them the way God loves them. I still struggle with bitterness and hard feelings toward some.
This is totally different from the way that God loves and forgives. He loves people with a never-ending love and He casts their sins as far away as the East is from the West and remembers them against them no more. God’s love is perfect.
This verse calls for us to love others as God loves them. The only way that I can love those who have hurt me in some way is through the power of God. It is hard to forget when we have been hurt deeply and treated unfairly. When we love and forgive those who do not deserve our love, His love is perfected in us.
Challenge: Love others as God loves them. Forgive those who have hurt you and love them as God loves them with an Agape type of love. Pray that God will use you to express His love to others. May others see and experience the love of God through you. Who do you need to forgive and love today?