Dave’s Monday Blast – June 16, 2025

The late Charles Stanley’s work and Biblical wisdom continues beyond his passing through InTouch Ministries. Recently I was reading an article during my devotional time entitled “Jesus teaches us how to love others, and He makes it possible”. The title peaked my interest because I have always had a bit of a struggle seeing  people through His eyes and thereby loving some as I know He does.

Who is the most Christlike person you know? And what makes them stand out to you? Are they patient? Peaceful? Quick to forgive? Loving? Kind? Of course words like these are taken right from Scripture and are descriptive of someone who displays the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22 & 23). 

As children of God we received the Holy Spirit upon salvation. It is the Spirit of God dwelling within and controlling us that allows us to “Look like Jesus”; which allows us to bear His Image. That Most Christlike Person is the person we should all aspire to become. That person is someone who inspires us to step fully into the Lord’s calling. Learning to love the way He did is a lifelong journey I know you would agree. It helps to have good examples along the way. Wouldn’t it be great if you were named as someone’s most Christlike person?!

Of course no matter how wonderful this individual is, the only person truly worth emulating is Jesus. It is from Him that we learn about true sacrificial and unconditional love. Scripture uses the Greek word agape for God’s love. It’s the selfless love described in 1 Corinthians 13. This love isn’t merely expressed by words, but is in how we treat one another. It’s not about our needs, but theirs. We want what is best for them so they can become who Christ wants them to be.

Ephesians 5:2 says we are to walk in love, meaning it’s the motive in all our interactions. How? The first step is understanding how Christ loves us. This is described in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.” That is of course what He did for us on the cross, and we are to do the same by loving one another even when it costs us.

Mark 8:34 tells us that we must deny self and take up His cross, i.e. love demands self-denial for the good of someone else. Sometimes this means forgiving others when they treat us poorly and certain do not deserve our forgiveness.

Additionally, we see in Jesus’ example the wisdom in not alway getting what we want because we know that the goal is to make us holy. So in the same way, our love for others doesn’t mean always yielding to their desires. The goal is to do what’s needed to help them grow in Christ, not to affirm their sinful desires or to affirm their destructive choices.

Love is not blind; it’s open-eyed and discerning, grounded in the knowledge of God (Philippians 1:9 – 10). We don’t love by “turning a blind eye”!