Week 4 | Live and Walk In Love

Have you ever been around someone who loves what they do? Have you ever been in the gym with an athlete or a coach who loves being in the gym? Have you ever been in the locker room with a team that loves each other?

You can feel the love. It pours and overflows throughout everyone who comes into its presence.

Love is one of the most powerful forces in this world. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

If we want to live a full life, it will help to start living a life where we are who we are, love what we do, and love who we do it with.

Klay Thompson is a great example of someone who loves what he does. He is one of the most beloved players in the NBA. The Golden State Warrior team and fan base absolutely love him. He missed 2 1/2 years because of 2 major injuries, so of course, he was a little rusty when he came back.

When he was asked about his struggles shooting the ball, Klay said, “I don’t care if I miss 100 shots in a row, I am going to keep shooting because I love it too much and I work too hard not to." 

His love for playing the game and for shooting the ball helped keep him going when he was injured and kept him going through slumps.

But you won’t always love every part of everything that you do. Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time once said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”

His love of fighting and winning is what kept him going during his training.

In ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19:8 it is written, “The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.”

Wisdom comes from experience and reflection. We learn to love our life through the wisdom we gain from the ups, the downs, and the storms of life.

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God also calls us to love our neighbor. We are supposed to love, give love, and show love for the people we do life with.

What does that mean? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 has a great definition of what love is and how to live and walk in love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 

Reading that daily can help you love yourself and your neighbor. It won’t make you perfect. You will mess up and make mistakes. You won’t always be patient, kind, and trusting. You will probably experience anger, envy, and pride at some point. But these verses give you a destination and route for how to live and walk in love, and they give you something to aspire to be and to return back to.

Finally, and most importantly, it is important to love yourself. If you can’t love yourself, it is impossible to love others the way that God has called us to.

Loving yourself begins with knowing that you were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). God carefully and intentionally designed all of us.

When you can learn to look at yourself in the mirror and love yourself with the love that God has for you, no filter in the world can match what you will see.

You will see that God is in you, with you, and working through you.

You will experience how priceless his unfailing love is, and you will see that you can take refuge in the shadow of his wings (Psalm 36:7).

You will see that He has plans for you. He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Learning how to love yourself because God loved you first is the most important part of living a fulfilling life. It is more important than grit and a growth mindset because even grit is a combination of passion and perseverance, and passion is just love in action.

Through the storms of life, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9)

Love who you are, love what you do, and love who you do it with. And keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 1:21).

THIS WEEK

1 - Learn how to look yourself in the eye, every day, and say, “I love myself.” You are an imperfect work in progress. God loves you through all of your mistakes and there is nothing that we can do to take his love away from us. Every morning and every night, look in the mirror and say, “I love myself.” Love who are, love who you were, and love who you are becoming by telling yourself, “I love you.”

2 - Thinking about and meditating on thoughts of love will help you live and walk in love. Every morning and every night, read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

5 BIBLE VERSES ABOUT LOVING LIFE, LOVING YOURSELF AND LOVING WHO YOU DO LIFE WITH

1 - Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

- Matthew 22:35-40

2 - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

3 - To acquire wisdom is to love oneself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.

- Proverbs 19:8

4 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

- Psalm 139:14

5 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

- Joshua 1:9

For a Google Doc version of this devo, click here: Week 4 | Live and Walk in Love