“Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.” 1 Peter 1:22 CSB
Love one another constantly. This wording has always stood out to me. I feel like so many times we just love when it’s easy. But honestly, this isn’t a biblical kind of love. We are told to love everyone, at all times, through anything. We are told to love like Jesus.
Loving hard people.
“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28
It’s really easy to love people we get along with. It’s easy to love people who think just like we do. But Jesus tells us to love people we don’t get along with. In fact, He tells us to love our enemies and to be kind to people who flat-out hurt us. We sometimes struggle with loving hard people, but to love one another constantly we must learn to love our enemies.
Loving through hard times.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.” Proverbs 17:17
“Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
A friend loves at all times, which means they love when it’s hard. When life happens and stuff goes wrong we’re supposed to just keep loving. Love never ends, it never fails and it’s patient and bears all things. Love isn’t about us; there is nothing selfish about love. Someone once told me that real love is having enough gut to wait through the hard times. If we want to love like the Bible tells us to then we have to love through hard times.
Love like Jesus.
“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:12-14
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34
Jesus’s love for us wasn’t easy. He gave his own life for us. Jesus loved hard people and loved people through hard things. He gave us an example of the most selfless love. We are told we need to love people as Jesus loves us, and He gave up everything for the people He loved. And we need to be willing to do the same thing.
I want to encourage us all to step out of our comfort zone and love when it’s hard. Learn to be more like Jesus and be willing to give up selfish desires for other people. Get comfortable loving people who hurt you. And be eager to love when things get tough, and when everyone else gives up, be ready to keep loving like Jesus. And above all else, love one another constantly.
In Christian Love,
Julianna
