Summary
It is only when God’s love is flowing into me as it should, that I have that love to flow out of me to those around me.
I Cannot Love in My Own Power
His love my love kindles to joy in his birth.
Richard Slater’s line from his song, When wise men came seeking, always makes me pause and think.
Our territorial mission statement is simply to Love God, Love Others. Richard Slater reminds me I cannot love God in my own power. It is God’s love in me that enables me to love him in return. The extent to which I allow God’s love into my heart, the extent to which I experience his love in my life, dictates just how I can love him back.
The same goes for Loving Others. In my own strength, I can find people irritating and difficult. Sometimes, they can seem over-demanding. It is only when God’s love is flowing into me as it should, that I have that love to flow out of me to those around me.
Christmas Brings Opportunities to Love God and Love Others
At Christmas, we have plenty of opportunities to express our love for God. We can do it as we sing our carols. We can do it as we spend time with the Christmas story again, studying it to see if there is anything we’ve missed or that God particularly wants to bring to our mind this year. And we have plenty of opportunities to show love to others too. It might be in serving them in ministry. It might be in providing hospitality to friends and family over the next few days. It might be through sharing with those who have less than us this Christmas time.
Let’s take the opportunity – as we should the remainder of the year – to do all we can to live up to our mission statement, personally and corporately. This Christmas, let’s Love God, Love Others.
Advent is a time for us to renew our love for God. This week on Battle Drill devotionals we celebrate the One who “came down at Christmas” to take the initiative of loving us first. The following week (commencing 26 December), as we continue through the season of Christmas, we examine what it’s all about. Is it just a time of socialising and overindulging in food and drink? Or does it mean something more? And on the final week before the next newsletter (commencing 2 January 2023), we focus on what’s going to be different in the new year? Have you made any New Year resolutions?
There’s a new episode of Battle Drill Devotional every Monday through Friday.
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Photo by Matt Nelson on Unsplash
