The expectation from the believer is that you show and live out the very same kind of love that you have been shown by God.
Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)
The conduct of a Christian are based on two subjects: loving God, and loving people.
Matthew 22:37-39
New King James Version
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Anyone who loves the Lord with all of their being and loves their neighbor equally will never think of stealing from their neighbor. They will not conceive the idea of murder; they will not think of cheating with another person's spouse. The love that they have for God and people automatically guides their thinking patterns and behaviours. These two commandments will always go hand-in-hand.
Your understanding of the kind of love that you have received from Christ’s death and resurrection to save your soul from eternal death will put you in the position to see that others are also deserving of that same love through your actions. Your reception of this love gives you the responsibility to pass it on to others by how you treat them.
1 John 4:20
New King James Version
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
You cannot say that you have experienced the unconditional love of God and then push away the same people who Christ has fully expressed this love for. It goes against the character of a true believer.
The expectation from the believer is that you show and live out the very same kind of love that you have been shown by God (the unconditional love), so that before you are even offended, there has been room created in your heart to forgive.
You must not get tired of doing good, of being a reflection of the standard of Christ every day. The fruit of your born-again Spirit includes love, and there is no amount of this love that we will ever give to anyone that will ever be “too much”.
As you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, see to it that your love for the person next to you measures up.
Prayer
Father, as I love you wholeheartedly, let my love for my neighbors reflect the kind of love that You have shown to me.
