Love Each Other
Scripture Reading — 1 John 4:7-21
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
—1 John 4:11
When our children were little and woke up during the night, sometimes we each would lie still, faking sleep, hoping the other would be the first to get up to tend to them. Every drop of sleep was precious. It was such a delight to have my spouse say, “Just sleep, I’ve got this.”
Such an act of selfless love gives a hint of Christ’s love. In response to God’s tremendous love for us, we are called to demonstrate this love to one another.
Jesus is our model for how we ought to love one another. He loved us enough to leave heaven to take on our earthly form. He loved us enough to stand up to all the temptations of the devil. He acted as the servant in the house washing his disciples’ feet (see John 13). Jesus loved us enough to die in our place even while we were broken and sinful. Such awesome love!
When we were married 25 years ago, a soloist sang for us “I Could Never Promise You.” It may not sound like a great wedding song, but it makes a good point. We are broken people who can never love each other perfectly. It is only Christ in us that allows us to keep our promises to love each other fully. If we want to be people who love like Jesus, we need to stick close to him. We can’t imitate Christ if we don’t know him!
Lord, words are not enough to thank you for the love you have shown to us. Help us to follow your example and to love others in your name. Amen.
About the author — Steven and Deb Koster
Steven and Deb Koster have a passion for marriages, families, and spiritual growth in the home. Both are ordained ministers in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Steven formerly served as editor of Today and director of ReFrame's English-language outreach. Deb leads Family Fire, ReFrame’s family ministry at FamilyFire.com and on Facebook. The Kosters have three children.
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