ONLY THE LOVE OF JESUS

"And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Matthew 14:25-31
King James Version

James Rowe wrote one of my favorite hymns "Love Lifted Me". The words in this beautiful hymn are so true. "Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help Love lifted me! Love lifted me! Love lifted me! When nothing else could help Love lifted me!" Thank God for the unconditional and unending love of our precious Saviour that lifts us from the depths of despair.

Yes, only the love of our Saviour can lift us up when people attack us with lies and mean cruel words. If we would let it go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that when we hurt one another, we also hurt Jesus, I believe we would be more loving and kind to one another. One day we will stand before a Holy God and give an account of the hatred, criticism, and sarcasm we allow to remain in our heart. All these things hurt our Heavenly Father and Jesus and break Their heart.

We read in the Bible. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).

One of my pastors said many times in a sermon "If you would make sure your own heart is in right standing with God, you won't have the time to criticize and judge others". The pastor was so right because it is a full time job making sure my own heart is in right standing with God. It would break my heart if Jesus should come back while I have hatred and unforgiveness in my heart. May God help us to love one another unconditionally as Jesus has commanded us to love each other.

Joanne Lowe
January 24, 2020