Wide Awake

Because Jesus loved us first, let us fill our lives with love and not hatred.

By the power of His Spirit, let us love even those who want to hurt us—those who could very easily be our enemies.

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, let us love those who wrong us, who want to see us fail.

What does it mean to show the amazing love God has shown us? Love can get confusing, especially when we don’t know how much to let someone into our lives or when we need to separate ourselves from those who are doing us harm.

But the basic principle is this: Instead of reacting out of hatred or trying to give someone back what we feel they deserve, we put our trust in our God and Savior to bring ultimate justice and to give us the power to forgive (Romans 12:9-21). Why? Because He forgave us and gives us His Spirit and a community of other people in our lives to figure out the best ways to show love to each person we encounter—enemy or not (Ephesians 4).

God is love, and He made us to love one another (1 John 4:7-12). In fact, Jesus even said the whole Bible can be summed up in two simple commands: love God and love others (Matthew 22:36-40). And here’s the good news: in Christ, we can be filled with the love He showed us. • Bethany Acker

• Read Romans 5:8 and 1 Peter 2:20-25. How does knowing how God loved us first change the way we see others? Have we ever considered that we ourselves are difficult to love? Why is it important that we’re no more (or less) deserving of love than other people?

• Who are difficult-to-love people in your life? What questions do you have about showing love to them?

• Read Galatians 6:1-10. We are not made to live out our faith alone, especially in dangerous situations. As you pray for wisdom about how to best show love to those around you, who are trusted people in your life you can reach out to—such as pastors, parents, counselors, or other authority figures?

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Psalm 77