The word is love. No, it is not the start of a game show or game, although it reminds me of just that. It is the answer to a random prayer I shot up this year after a Facebook post of someone sharing her word for the year from God and asking others to do the same. 

I don’t usually ask God for a word for the year, but there are times and seasons I feel I’m directed to study a certain idea, passage, or book from the Bible, like Philippians and later Exodus, last year. However, seeing the post, I shot up this prayer: “Lord, do you have a word for me this year?” Just as quickly as I said it, I sensed the word given to me was love, a word given to all of us.

Knowing my personality, I can’t say I’ll  spend 2019 looking only at love, but it is a great place to start the year and it is the heart of the Bible, so I guess I will one way or another. After all, when someone asked Jesus about the greatest commandment He replied: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT). 

Love is who God is and who we are as followers of Christ. Love God. Love people. Easy, right? I don’t know about you, but I feel as if I fall short of both of these. 

Thinking about these two commands and love, I had the following thoughts: 

1.    To love others, I must first receive God’s love.

2.    How does God demonstrate His love for me? Have I received this with all my heart? Are there areas of my heart and life where I have rejected God’s love? 

3.    What does it look like, for me, to love others—not just with assent or agreement of the need to do, but to actually walk it out and love others as Christ loves me? 

Thankfully, I don’t have to figure it out on my own. God has shown the way through His Son and given us a guide in His word. I look forward to exploring more about God’s love and how to love God and love people more this year. Do you want to come along? What are your ideas on this? Leave a comment. I’d enjoy hearing from you.