Our God is love, and without love, we cannot truly worship and work for Him.
He is the epitome of love – the kind of love that is selfless and willing to give all that it haves so that it may save many. For that is what Scripture says in John 3:16(AMP), "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He[even] gave His [One and] [a]only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life." He did not need saving but for the sake of those of us who were perishing, he was moved with compassion to the point of spending all He had in order to pray for our ransom. He was willing to leave the comfort and glory in heaven to step down into this world so He can have all of us.
This year, can we look to emulate this kind of love for those perishing in sin – so we can do whatever it takes to reach out for our comfort zones and win them for the Lord? Can we show some more love to those who are less advantaged in society especially those of the household of faith? Shall we learn to love our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, those with whom we worship and work in God's vineyard – irrespective of their imperfections? Shall we not forget that we too are full of flaws? Shall we then learn how to make room for the misjudgements and the folly of others? Yes, we can and only then can we share a sincere love with one another (1.Pet 1:22). Moreover, that is how the world would know we are his disciples – Jesus said (Jn 13:34-35).
Jesus also prayed for the unity of his disciples, basing on the unity between his Father and himself - John 17:11 "…Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." Jesus knew that without unity amongst his disciples after he had gone, his ministry would die. That is why he commanded them to tarry in Jerusalem waiting for the Holy Spirit, who would only come after they had been in 'one accord' (Acts 2:1).
In 2018, Let's do things differently – let us accept one another by clothing ourselves in a tapestry love.