7 Ways To Love One AnotherSample

Introduction: Love One Another With Truth and Grace

Jesus calls us to love one another, but it isn’t a call to love others who are just like us. His call is an invitation to love all of God’s children no matter their background, culture, talents, experiences or personalities.

Throughout His life, Jesus set an example of how to love one another with truth and grace in a posture of humility. Consider Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Jews would have counted several strikes against the interaction since He not only spoke with a Samaritan, but a Samaritan woman. One who was known for her sins and was an outcast in her own community.  Jesus looked beyond this woman’s identity as it was defined by others and saw her as someone in need of the living water only He could provide. 

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is an example of how to speak truth and grace into one another’s lives. Just as God’s Word shaped Christ’s interactions, so it must shape ours. The more people we encounter and form relationships with, the more opportunity there is for grace to shine.

We can learn so much from Scripture as we consider what it means to love one another. Loving each other means being willing to hear each other’s stories, the experiences and backgrounds that have influenced lives and perspectives, with love, not legalism and judgment rooted in our own experiences and backgrounds.  It’s a lifelong lesson with daily opportunities to put it into practice.

Over the next week we’re going to look at different ways you can love those around you. From loving one another with greater intentionality to loving one another in our differences, the Bible is filled with examples on how you can fulfill one of the greatest commandments: loving others.

Questions for Reflection:

• Think about the people in your life who are different from you and whom you might hold personal biases against. What shaped those biases?
• How can you tell your story and listen to others’ stories in a way that creates understanding and community?
• What would it look like for you to love your neighbor with truth and grace today?