Love in Action

Scripture has a lot to say about the way we treat people. If we have been saved by God, and have been shown the mercy and goodness of God, then we ought to show mercy and goodness to other people. Essentially…

…what we believe should determine how we act.

All of us who have received grace freely from God ought to also give grace freely to others. In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, he encourages them to be kind and compassionate to others. This idea is spread across all of God’s Word…

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
1 John 4:11 NIV

“…All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”
1 Peter 3:8 NIV.

“You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”
Luke 6:36 NLT

Showing other people compassion is one of the primary ways that we can communicate God’s love to other people. If we fail to love other people, we also fail to show them God’s love.

Paul also says we should forgive other people in our life, just as we have already been forgiven by Jesus. Forgiveness and compassion go together. When we do not forgive others, we fail to show them the same compassionate love that Jesus has shown us. A love that, as it suffered for us and because of us, still allowed Jesus to say, “Father forgive them—because they don’t know what they’re doing.” We ought to be careful that we do not deny others the same love we’ve been freely given.

If you want to learn more about how to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving toward others, you can read through the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry found in the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

But right now, take some time to think about the people in your own life who you may have the opportunity to show compassion to. Is there someone in need who you can help? Is there a person you can forgive? Is there someone who you can encourage?

Today is a great day to show people the same love, compassion, and forgiveness that you have received.

www.bible.com/en/videos/41397

Click on the link above to watch the verse of the day story. God bless.

Affliction Diminishes or Enlarges You 
When a child learns to walk, he or she falls several times but gets up again until he or she succeeds. The child does not have a false identity. In contrast, when we grow up and fall, we usually stay on the floor. 

The apostle Paul showed a good attitude in the face of adversity. He was in prison, not for committing a crime, but for obeying his divine calling. He wrote a letter to the Philippians where he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” In the midst of whatever situation you are going through, you can understand that we do not depend on circumstances but on a Spirit that has been given to us. We should be able to say, “In the midst of my condition, I rejoice in the Lord.” 

Paul was talking about his experiences in life. His secret is in Philippians 4:11–13. He says that he may be going through a difficult situation or be in abundance, but he remains the same. People often change through the extremes they live in. One extreme is positive, which is living in abundance. The other extreme is when we lack or are in need. However, both extremes reveal who we are through our reactions. Paul says, “In Christ, I remain the same.” Nothing changes us, because we can do everything in Christ who is the reason of our strength. 

Paul proves to be a true apostle by demonstrating his resilience through his letters. He never presented his accomplishments, instead presented the facts. Through every hardship he experienced, he remained true to his calling. This is the greatest evidence of someone who possesses the life of the true God: that regardless of adversity, he or she continues to serve Him. Actions speak louder than words. 

Paul said that he cared for and burdened for the church. It was the suffering of others that weighed him down, not his own condition. This process in his life not only produced in him knowledge of the God of all comfort but transformed him into an instrument of consolation for others. What he suffered made sense, because now he understood that his suffering and what had happened in his life was God’s preparation to enable him to comfort others

Identity
What happens in your life does not determine your spirit. How you perceive yourself and the abilities you have are important. When the nation of Israel lived in Egypt, they were a strong group of people who knew the true God, but they were slaves. They were not physically powerful, but they had the true God in their lives. The problem was that they had no identity. They did not know what they possessed. 

When you do not know what you have, even if you have natural skills and gifts, you will continue to act as if you did not have it. The Israelites suffered great affliction in the nation of Egypt. They could not break out of the situation; they saw it as too big and saw themselves as incapable. Anyone could have enslaved them because they were slaves in their minds. They had an attitude of defeat. Affliction had oppressed them and taken away their identity. This causes a person’s performance to decrease, which affects their ability to manifest the gifts they have been given.

In contrast, when your attitude is not determined by your problems, but by the identity that you have as a child of God, then what happens around you does not control you. 

David was smaller, weaker, and less experienced than Saul’s soldiers. They had military training and weapons. But David had a different identity than they did. He perceived himself differently. David had enormous confidence in God. He lived in the old covenant, which means God was not perceived; it was difficult because people were dead in their spirit. Nevertheless, David had a characteristic in his life, which was his faith. He had believed the stories of the past when a prophet had told him that he would be king of Israel. He believed it. That produced in David an identity of destiny, of knowing he had a future, and knowing his relationship to God. Although he had less experience than the other soldiers, he was the only Israelite who believed that they could win; therefore, only he could have defeated the giant. 

David saw himself as an overcomer. The reality is that his conception was based on truth. The others’ perception was based on a lie. Their problem was not physical, but mental and spiritual: they perceived themselves with an incorrect identity. 

Merciful Father
In 2 Corinthians 1:3–5, the Bible says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” 

Paul teaches that in the midst of his afflictions the Father of mercy was revealed to him. When we talk about the Father, the earthly paternal image comes to mind. But no matter what your dad was like, you need to understand that God, the Father, has different facets to relate to us. In difficulty, He is the Father of mercy. He presents Himself in various ways, but in distress, we need to know Him as a merciful Father. 

God also comforts us through our difficulties. I do not know what your problem is, but I do know about the God of comfort. The comfort you need is in the Father of all consolation and mercy. Paul learned that afflictions were part of life and he was no stranger to them, although they were never the product of his irresponsibility. There are situations in life where our suffering is due to the effect of what we do and our irresponsibility. In the case of Paul, the afflictions that he narrates were the result of obeying a call in his life. He was not in control of his circumstances and could not change them. 

The afflictions of life are not necessarily the result of something you did. Sometimes there are parents distressed because the children rebel and people believe that it is due to bad parenting. However, children grow up and make their own decisions. If your situation is out of your control, God, the Father of comfort, will produce peace in your heart. If you were the cause of your circumstances, correct your wrongdoing, and in the midst of it all, you will know the Father of mercy. 

God will not deliver you from all your situations, but He will always comfort you. We are not always freed immediately from the situation, but we do come out with our heads held high.