Love Looks, and Love Listens
By Rick Warren
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7 (NIV)
What God does for you, he wants you to do for other people.
God accepts you unconditionally. That doesn’t mean he approves of everything you do, but he accepts you, no matter what you’ve done. And God says he wants you to act similarly toward everybody in your life.
One of the ways you demonstrate acceptance to someone else is to look at them and listen to them. When you look someone in the eye, you’re declaring that they matter to you. The highest form of love is focused attention.
Love looks, and love listens. What about you—do you look and listen? When someone at work drops something off at your desk, do you say anything to them? When somebody serves you at a restaurant or a clerk helps you in a grocery store, do you look them in the eye and say, “Thank you”? It may seem like a small thing. But when you give someone your attention, even for just a moment, you affirm their value as a person and show that you accept them.
The Bible says in Romans 15:1, “We must bear the ‘burden’ of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others” (TLB).
We all have fears and doubts. Acceptance means you listen to others’ fears and doubts. When people have doubts about God, you need to first listen and show that it doesn’t change your love or acceptance. Why? Because this is how God loves us.
When we doubt, God’s love does not change. When we are fearful and unwilling to trust, God still accepts us. This is how he wants us to love other people.
Loving like Jesus means you accept other people the way Jesus accepts you. And when his love flows through you, it’s possible for you to love others unconditionally.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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