A NEW YEAR OF LOVE

  “The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. And the best time to love is now.” – Rick Warren.

As we have changed the calendar to a new year, we face the fact that our days on earth are numbered. As the psalmist wrote, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” No thoughtful person can approach New Year’s Day without some introspection. We are reminded of the brevity of time. We also look back over our failures, mistakes, and missed opportunities and vow to make better use of our time during the coming year and be more Christlike. But amid all the New Year’s resolutions, what can we do this year to “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:16). The answer is love.

Love is a core principle of Christianity. It is the nature of God: The Bible teaches that Jesus identified two great commandments that relate to love: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love is more than just a sentiment; it’s a call to action. In other words, increasing our love for God and each other.  1 John 4:7 says, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”

 John tends to be direct and black-and-white in his writings. It would be difficult to be any more clear and concise than John, and that is true about 1 John 4:7. John doesn’t ask us to love based on the character or qualities of other people but urges us to love based on our relationship with God. God’s love displayed in our lives and how we act toward others marks a believer in Jesus Christ.

Love is from God. It originated with Him and is sustained by Him in us – through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 reminds us, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

We can’t earn His love because we already have it. And we can’t lose His love because we don’t deserve it in the first place. God saved us because He loves us. Romans 8:38-39 reveals the magnitude of God’s love for us. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But we can reflect that love by loving others.

Loving each other won’t be easier in 2025 than in 2024 or 2023. It requires prayer, forgiveness, self-denial, and sacrifice. While it won’t be easy, it is attainable through the finished work of Christ on our behalf. 1 John 4:19 tells us “We love each other because he loved us first.” Our goal in 2025 is to become increasingly known for our love for one another based on God’s love for us and to display it to a world that needs it.

 Discussion Questions:

1. If love is to be the defining mark of believers, what can you do more of or better to be a “display window” for the love of Christ?