How Are You Showing Love to Others?

I Thessalonians 4:9–10
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Though sexual impurity is a danger to be avoided (verses 3-8), loving other Christians is a practice to be cultivated (verses 9-12). Christians quickly learn that they have a special kinship with other believers that they do not have with those outside of God’s family. You will especially notice this if you live in a family where they do not know the Lord but you have friends who do.

In this passage Paul tells the Thessalonians how we should abound in love:

1. The explanation of love (v. 9). The word translated “brotherly love” in verse 9 refers to the loving, sensitive and caring relationship that should exist among brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. The extent of love (v. 10). This kind of love should extend to all the brethren.
3. The expression of love (v. 10). One of the principal means of showing love is providing hospitality.  Because Thessalonica was the commercial center of Macedonia the believers no doubt had many occasions to play host to Christians from other places.
4. The expansion of love (v. 10). In brotherly love there is always room for growth. The difficulties we believers may have with one another are opportunities for us to grow in love.

How does God cause our love to increase more and more? He does it by putting us into circumstances that force us to practice Christian love. Often the difficulties that we believers have with one another are opportunities for us to grow in love.

Application

What have I done in the past week to show my Christian love toward a brother in Christ? What could  I do to increase that love with someone who may be hard for me to love?