Love one another

(Audio: English)

SUMMARY: The happiest and most content people tend to be those who are best at loving others. However, this is not inherent in human nature and goes against our survival instinct. We often wait until we are happy or fulfilled before we feel we can afford to love sacrificially. But scripture teaches that we should love others as Christ loved us, and that in doing so, we will bear fruit that lasts and bring glory to God. By remaining in Christ's love and obeying His commands, we can access His power and joy. We should aim to be an expression of God's love, just as Jesus was an expression of His Father's love.

Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us. This means loving everyone, including those who are difficult to love. By obeying this command, we have access to the joy of the Lord. To love one another means to lay down our lives for each other, which can involve forgiving others, spending time with them, or praying for them. As friends of Jesus, we have the authority to love others in His name and fulfill His purposes on earth. Saint Francis of Assisi's prayer encapsulates this principle of love.

The speaker asks someone to read a prayer aloud on behalf of everyone, and the group responds with "amen" at the end.

God bless you all tonight. It turns out that I think, I believe that the word that the Lord has given us for tonight is precisely about, you know, is there a relationship between giving and between of the power of the Lord, access to his power, access to his joy and access to what we want of the Lord? And maybe we should start this evening with an observation.

Have you ever noticed, maybe it’s just me, but have you ever noticed that the happiest people you’ve ever met, for instance in my case; I’d have to say that the happiest people I ever met, the most self actualized people I’ve ever met, the most content people I’ve ever met, also tend to be the people who are the best at loving. Have you noticed that? The happiest, most content people I’ve ever met just also tend to be the people who are best at loving others and maybe we’re thinking of the same people. There’s someone like this in your life. If you’re lucky enough and with mother’s day rolling around, maybe I am describing your mom, you know, if you’re blessed, I know I’m describing my mom. I’m certainly describing my wife’s mom and so many moms, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be your mom. There’s probably someone in your life that you can say wou! That person is so gentle. That person is usually the first person to forgive an offense done to them. That person you can count on to serve others without any thought of what they’re going to get out of it. And this person, perhaps, that you’re thinking of has this description begin to crystallize a face or two in heart, usually these people are a delight to be with. You just love being around people like that, you love being around people who love others.