Proverbs 16:24 – Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Job 4:4 – Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.
Proverbs 15:23 – A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God has not built us to do “life” on our own. In the beginning, God said of man “It is not good for the man to be alone I will make a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18).” When God brought Eve to Adam, Adam was joyous. Genesis 2:23 records Adam as saying “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” Adam needed a companion who could relate to him. Who he could share life with. Another human to walk side-by-side with. God made us social beings. First we are to love and fellowship with God. Secondly, we are to love and fellowship with each other. These two are built in needs.
In this fallen world, hard times are sure for all of us. When troubled we run to God and are comforted. We should run first to God. But God gave us each to be one body that takes care of itself. As Adam and Eve had each other, so He gave all us each other. We know that the greatest commandment of all is to love God with all that we are and to love each other as we love ourselves (Luke 10:27). In actuality, us all being united in Christ as His body (1 Corinthians 12:27), we truly all are one. So when we love each other as ourselves, we are loving ourselves. It is a very disturbed and mentally ill person who hurts, or cuts off, a part of his own body. Something is wrong is we say that, as an example “I don’t love my left arm or hand so I will cut it off.” Well, the body of Christ is one. Something is very wrong with the person who believes oneself to be part of the body of Christ but wants to cut oneself off from the body, or another part of the body from oneself. If our hand were to touch something hot and cause the whole body to feel pain, does the body then cut off the hand in anger. No, the rest of the body will do all it needs to bring healing and comfort to the wounded hand. Jesus loves every person who is part of His body. Since He is the head and we are receiving direction from Him, like the brain controls our bodies, then if we are really connected to Jesus we will love and take care of each other, just as we take care of ourselves.
We are told in 1 John 4:7 to, as God does, love each other. If we love each other we think about each other. We are concerned for the welfare of those we love. If someone that we love hurts, we hurt. We rush to help those we love. We check in on the ones we love. We want to, no, we need to, know that the one we love is okay. It is tortuous to know that one that we love is hurting, ill, or in need. We want to help. If nothing else, we just want to hold them close and to let them be comforted by our love. We want to speak encouraging words to them. What we do is we love each other. And if we don’t love each other, than we do not know God (1 John 4:8).
Family, let us love as God has loved us. God reached out to us help us when we could not help ourselves. God has given us His Word that is His love expressed to us. His love heals us. His Word heals us. He has given us His Holy Spirit to live within and guide us. His Holy Spirit within speaks love and peace to us. The Holy Spirit brings His Word alive within us and so brings us life and peace that is found nowhere else. Let us, as children of God, show that we are His by being like our Father. Let us be concerned for each other and seek to express the love we have for each other the through kindness, the same kindness that God has for all of us. And, Family, let us not slap away the hand that comes with healing. Let the healing salve of love minister to us. To all of us. Let’s think about each other, check in on each other, and encourage each other and build each other up with words of kindness and love. Let us share the Word of God with each other, it is the best word we can share and nothing is more loving.
Family, let us love one another. Thereby we know we are God’s children. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.