Love-A Precious Quality - HOW CAN WE CULTIVATE LOVE?

Ask God to give you his holy spirit, which produces love.  Jesus said that Jehovah gives "holy spirit to those asking him."  (Luke 11:13)  So we can be sure  that if we pray for holy spirit and allow it to help us, we will become more and more loving.  (Galatians 5:16)  For example, if you are an elder, you can ask for holy spirit to help you to be loving when you must counsel others from the Bible. Leigh found that asking herself that question helped her to think before acting.  She says:  "Once, a coworker sent me an e-mail to my colleagues with negative comments about me and the work I was doing.  It hurt me deeply,  But then I asked myself, 'How can I imitate Jesus in dealing with this person?'  After reflecting on what Jesus would have done, I decided to let the matter go and not make an issue of it.  Later, I learned my coworker had been coping with a serious health problem, and was under a lot of stress.  I concluded that she probably did not mean what she wrote.  Reflecting on Jesus' example of showing love even when provoked helped me to show similar love to my coworker." If we imitate Jesus, we will always show love to others.

Learn to show self-sacrificing love.  This is the kind of love that identifies Jesus' true followers.  (John 13:34, 35 )  Jesus himself had this kind of love, and he set the perfect example for us. How so?  By leavening heaven "he emptied himself" in our behalf, even "to the point of death."  (Philippians 2:5-8) When we imitate Jesus' self-sacrificing love, our thoughts and feelings will become more like his, and we will put the needs of others ahead of our own. 

Next time: Love-A Precious Quality - BENEFITS OF SHOWING LOVE

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