Walking In Love
Last week, my wife and I were upstairs in our bedroom. When I started to walk out of the room she said, “Honey, can you take that basket of laundry downstairs for me?”
No big deal…so I walked ten feet to the laundry basket and ten feet back to the door.
As I got to the door she said, “Oh, can you grab this for me too?”
Still no big deal…so I turned around, walked about another ten feet, picked up the second object, and returned to the door.
Just as I got to the door she said, “Oh I forgot, can you grab this one more thing…”
At this point a switch in my being triggered…not a good switch. It was the switch that went from “I love my wife and want to serve her” to “Stop bossing me around!”
So I turned around, looked at her, and said one word, “Really?”
So she said, “It’s okay, you don’t have to get it.”
Then I felt bad, so I started walking over to pick it up, to which she said, “Oh no…don’t go get it now!”
When we think about our spiritual growth we often wonder what spiritual activities will produce in us the greatest amount of spiritual growth. A very powerful activity is walking in love.
Ephesians 5:1-2 says, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”
The basic idea is, God has given us an example of what it means to “walk in the way of love.” That example is Jesus loving us and sacrificing himself on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
This means we “walk in the way of love” by serving others through making sacrifices for them. Serving through sacrifice is the way we demonstrate our love for others in the same way God demonstrated his love for us through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Is walking in the way of love a sacrifice? Sure. As you walk in the way of love you will make all sorts of sacrifices for people.
Will it be easy? No way!
The first two times my wife asked me to carry something downstairs for her, I responded by “walking in the way of love.” The third time threw my switch. I went from “walking in the way of love” to “walking in the way of don’t boss me around.”
So why should you “walk in the way of love”?
Two reasons:
- God has “walked in the way of love” for you, so you should “walk in the way of love” for others.
- “Walking in the way of love” produces tremendous spiritual growth.
Try it. Commit to intentionally “walking in the way of love” over the next 24 hours. At the end of your 24 hours, evaluate your spiritual growth.
Are you closer to God or further away? Are you experiencing more or less joy? Do you have more or less peace? Is your anxiety greater or has it diminished?
You will find the more you walk in the way of love, the more you will grow spiritually.
Want to really grow spiritually? Simply develop the daily habit of “walking in the way of love.”
