Overflowing Love for One Another
“and may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;” Paul (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
Only when we come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord can we truly increase and overflow in our love for others because He is The Source of Real Love! As your receive God’s love in Christ and build your relationship with Him the overflow of love impacts every other person and relationship in your life.
As we continue with the “one anothers” of Scripture we move to Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica where we find one of the more encouraging commands. Paul very positively praised them for their receiving of The Gospel and walking in it as Timothy had gone to them and returned with this good report.
In 1 Thessalonians 3:12, he simply tells them to allow The Lord to “…cause your love to increase and overflow for each other.” How’s that for encouragement!
How can we, as fallen human beings, who only know love as give and take actually overflow with love for others? Only as we give our lives to Christ and by grace through faith receive Him as Savior and Lord. As we do so we are not only forgiven of our sins and made holy before a Holy God but we are given the gift of The Holy Spirit.
This is how we are able to both be filled with His Love and overflow with that love to others…all others!
Being consistent, as Scripture by The Holy Spirit always is, He places the emphasis on The Lord and the producing of that love by The Lord in and through us. He even extends it to say to “one another and to all people.”
It is The Lord that causes us to increase and overflow by His Holy Spirit. You can do this in no other way.
How are you doing when it comes to allowing The Lord to increase your love for others? John 7:38 says, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” This is the overflow of The Holy Spirit pouring out Truth and Love through our lives as we walk by faith in Christ!
Are you allowing His Love to fill you with your time in The Word, prayer and listening…so it can overflow to impact others and point them to Him?
Food for Thought…Are you trying to love others apart from God’s Love to you, in you and through you? Quit trying to love from an empty vessel in your flesh and allow Christ and His Holy Spirit to fill you and flow through so others will know His Love.
Action Steps…
- Spend time with God and in His Word and prayer every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
- Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
- Take inventory of your relationships…are they rooted in Godly Love evident to all others?
- What needs to change, if anything, for you to increase and overflow His Love to your spouse? Children/family? Other believers? Non-believers? Enemies?
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