Loving Others

1 Peter 4:7 in The Message says, "Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless-cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing tehm around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything '" encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"

I heard this message during a women's event at church and it really struck me. I don't typically read The Message version of the Bible, but I do like how this verse translated. Love others as though our lives depended on it. I had to really ponder if I lived this way. Obviously Jesus did and if we are to live more like Jesus in our daily walk, we have some work to do.

Love is a choice. You can provide acts of service, be deeply in love, be loving towards others, show compassion, whatever your display of "love" to others is. The key message here is to just do it, make it happen. We all have our own way of displaying love. I think love is one of the most misunderstood noun/verb/adjectives in the human language.

Consider this scripture from Luke 6:32 NIV "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even '˜sinner's love those who love them."

We tend to live in our own little worlds, often in front of boxes '" either computers or television screens and forget to actually love.

So, what does loving others like Jesus mean to you?