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PROGRAM D-7743
No doubt you know this one verse from the Bible that says that “God is love.” But what does that mean? Well, that verse in 1 John 4:16b goes on to say that “Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” Living in love—that’s what I’ve chosen to focus on for this New Year and I’m challenging you to join me as we undertake a 30-day plan to learn to live in love.
Based on 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter which defines love, I have put together this plan to learn to practice love. Living in love takes practice. So, what this plan suggests is that you read 1 Corinthians 13 every day for 30 days. It’s a short chapter—won’t take you long at all—but after 30 days of that truth soaking into your mind, you will have a much clearer understanding of what living in love means.
Then, on each of those 30 days, I suggest that you focus on one specific attribute of love. For example, on Day 10 the focus is “looking for the good in others.” That’s because 1 Corinthians 13:5 says that love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. That means that you’re intentionally looking for the good in others instead of focusing on the things that irritate you.
That could be someone you really don’t like, and so you just pray that God will show you something about that person that is good. Or it could be your mate or someone close to you, and you’ve been so focused on what you don’t like about them that you’ve forgotten all the good things you do like. If you pray about that and sincerely look for the good in others, you will be practicing love—you will be loving like Jesus loves. How exciting is that?!
God taught me that principle many years ago when I worked for a difficult man and all I saw was his bad points. Then I finally asked God to help me see him the way God saw him, and it changed me. I saw that he had outstanding business knowledge and acumen which I could learn from him, but until I intentionally prayed and looked for the good in him, I couldn’t see it at all.
We just have to get serious and specific about living in love.
