Jesus welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God and healed those in need. Luke 9:11
Loving one another
by Angela Weir
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace… And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you.
Paul wrote those verses to the Ephesians many years ago but it seems that human nature has changed little and we hurt one another with the same back-biting, criticism and lack of thought for others that he encountered. Sadly, this often seems to be particularly true in Christian circles.
Jesus commanded us to love one another so that by the love we demonstrate, non-believers would recognise that we belong to Him. In other words the love we show for each other as Christians, should set us apart from the world, make us attractive to be with and draw others to Jesus.
This can be a challenge as we don’t always necessarily like those we find ourselves in fellowship with, but we must choose to love them as an act of our will.
One of the ways we can begin to change our attitude is by asking God to show us how He sees those we find it difficult to be with. For in His eyes they are His precious children. When we begin to pray for them God can sow a seed of love for them in our hearts. A group of people working together in an office with a difficult colleague began to pray in just this way and within a fairly short time that colleague had changed and relationships had improved. Perhaps we could be instrumental in praying like this for people in our churches.
Prayer: Lord, help me to love and pray for those who cause difficulties in my life. I now realise that by loving and praying for them, both circumstances and people can be changed - including me! In Jesus' name, Amen
Angela Weir has been associated with Ellel Ministries from the very beginning, first as an associate member of the ministry team and later as an associate teacher. She trained as an actress before moving to Cumbria, where she taught drama in a girls’ school. She now teaches and ministers at various Ellel Centres.
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