Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
You ever wonder what separates a Christian from a non-Christian? I have friends who are nonbelievers who don't smoke, drink, party. So is a Christian somebody that doesn't smoke and drink? Is Christianity about behavior modification? Well, in our verse today we find the answer to that question. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 2 tells us to live a life that's filled with love, following the example of Christ—following the example of Christ.
A Christian is someone who follows Christ, someone who has a relationship with the Lord. That's what separates a believer from a nonbeliever. And then Paul says this: He says to live a life that's filled with love. So he's telling us to follow Christ and live a life that's filled with love.
How Can We Love Like Jesus?
And that raises the question, how can we love like Jesus? And in our verse, He says, "and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us". And the word for love there is agape, which is a sacrificial love. So how are we to love? We are to love sacrificially, and Jesus is our greatest example.
Romans chapter 5, verse 8 would tell us that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. So it was a sacrificial love. And you and I didn't deserve that love. Yet He still went to the cross. So God's calling us to love those around us.
Now, you might be listening and you're like, "God's highlighting somebody that you need to love on." And maybe you've been hurt, abandoned, falsely accused, betrayed. And you're like, "They don't deserve to be loved." Can I just remind you—none of us deserve to be loved. None of us deserve to be forgiven. And there have been times in my life where I've struggled to extend grace to people. And something that's really helped me is I like to remind myself of all the crazy stuff that God has forgiven me of.
Practical Ways to Walk in Love
Remind yourself of the grace of God—that God extended grace to you when honestly, you don't deserve it. I definitely don't deserve it. And I think one of the practical ways that we can walk in this love is by forgiving people and extending the grace that's been extended to us.
And the second way is to notice people. And I think Jesus was a master at this. All throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus doing ministry as He was going, as He was getting ready to cross to the other side, as He was walking. He would notice a person. I think one of the ways that we can love on people is we need to notice them. As you go into your coffee shop, to your school, to work, there's always hurting people around us.
And one of the questions that's helped me minister to people is asking them, "Hey, how can I pray for you?" And you'd be amazed at the storms that people are navigating through when you simply ask the question, "How can I pray for you?"
I would encourage you to extend grace to those around you and notice people and ask the question, "How can I pray for you?" So go love on somebody today.
