By Dr Agnes Tan
How do you show your love? Some spend hours in the kitchen preparing food for their loved ones. Some offer listening ears. Some give advice. Some make visitations, even with tightened visitation safety measures over Chinese New Year. No matter how we express our love, one thing is certain—love is what makes us go that extra mile.
We do not love everyone so God commands us to go even deeper. The apostle John said, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love” (1 John 3:7-8). “As children of God, we are called to love” (John 13:34-35). God knows this is a tough assignment and so He “demonstrates His love that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). “Because God loved us, we now have the confidence to love others” (1 John 4:19).
The secret to loving others is to understand God’s love for us. Through His Word, God shows us how He loves us. Lest we forget, our liturgical calendar also reminds us how that God loves us. Liturgical calendar not only marks the important events in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ like Advent and Christmas and soon Easter, but also informs the church’s responses to these events in outward and inward worship.
In about six weeks, churches around the world will be celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But before that we have six weeks to prepare—starting today, the first Sunday of Lent. In this season of Lent, will you read His Word diligently so that you may understand, as all God’s children should, how deep the love of the Father is? Will you spend time to meditate on His Word? Will you worship Him at home and with God’s people? Will you let the love of God fill your hearts so you can love those around you?
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).