Love For One Another – Sunday Thought For The Day
Sometimes the Holy Spirit touches us seemingly out of context and in ways that we do not understand. Saturday morning as I sat reading Romans 1:15-17 (KJV), I had just such an experience that filled my heart with love for a brother at church I’ve recently met. The verses read:
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
As I read these verses, for some inexplicable reason the Holy Spirit brought the man that I just met to my mind; and not just to my mind, but to my heart. I realized my heart was suddenly filled with love for my new friend and brother in Christ in a way I at first could not grasp.
It is now early evening as I write this and I have spent the better part of the day reflecting upon and praying about what I experienced that morning. I was unable to connect those verses in Romans with the flood of emotion I had suddenly felt that morning.
I have concluded it was the witness of the Holy Spirit in my new friend. He could not contain his love for the Lord. As we were parting we said, “I love you brother” to one another. Our words were real and genuine. I didn’t realize just how real they were until for some unknown reason the Holy Spirit showed me through seemingly unrelated verses.
Perhaps Paul was experiencing such love for the gospel of Christ as he wrote the words that I had read and reread that morning. I’ve read these verses countless times in the past, but never have I experienced the emotion I felt that morning. Perhaps the Holy Spirit was reminding me of the reality of His indwelling in me/us.
What I can say is; I look forward to seeing my brother in Christ again. I look forward to our sharing about the lord with one another. Perhaps most of all, I look forward to letting him know that I genuinely love him in Christ and count him a blessing in my life.
I believe such love for the brethren should fill the hearts of all believers for one another. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Not the fickle, make believe love that the world claims we have if we condone sin, but the love of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, which was exampled by our Lord and Savior who died for our sins.
READ:
1 John 3:14-16 (KJV)
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
About the Author
Mychal Massie
Mychal S. Massie is an ordained minister who spent 13 years in full-time Christian Ministry. Today he serves as founder and Chairman of the Racial Policy Center (RPC), a think tank he officially founded in September 2015. RPC advocates for a colorblind society. He was founder and president of the non-profit “In His Name Ministries.” He is the former National Chairman of a conservative Capitol Hill think tank; and a former member of the think tank National Center for Public Policy Research. Read entire bio here