March 17, 2024 - Galatians 5:14-15

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.” Galatians 5:14-15 NLT

Oh, Lord, help us to love like you love. We desire that but fall so short. Why is it so much easier to devour others? It’s so easy to hold others to a higher standard than we want to be held to. When we have a morning where nothing is going right and we are snappy at someone, we want them to offer us grace and understanding. Yet, when someone snaps at us, it doesn’t matter why, we get hurt and offended or respond in that same spirit. Forgive us, Father. Lord, we do this with our fellow Christians, our brothers and sisters. We are supposed to be walking in unity, yet we so often fail to offer love and grace. If we can’t even love our fellow believers, how do we expect to love the lost who don’t share our values? Lord, we won’t.

Teach us how to love. Open our eyes to see others through your eyes. Help us not to be quick to assume or judge. Help us to always choose to believe the best of others. Help us to offer grace and not respond in the same spirit if we are being mistreated. Help us to offer love even when what is being offered to us is far from love. Help us to be quick to forgive, and then do it again and again, like you do with us. Help us learn to let go of offenses and not hang on until we build up a grudge. Help us learn to forgive what is meant to hurt or destroy and offer love. Lord, this is what it means to love like you. This is how we want to be loved, so help us love others like this. Let how we love unconditionally be a shining light that draws people to you. Let us love the sin out of people just like you do with us. What a magnificent example you are to us. We praise you for how you love us so unconditionally.

In Jesus name, amen.