Love Prays First
John 15:12This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
Love one another as I have loved you—command repeated with the same Christ-measure. Repetition in John signals importance. Love is not a seminar you complete; it is a commandment you revisit. "Even as" keeps the standard from drifting into preference. Jesus' love initiated, sacrificed, and stayed truthful. Yours should trend in those directions. Where has your love become reactive only—waiting to be loved first? Reverse it in one relationship this weekend. The commandment assumes community; isolation makes it theoretical. Stay planted with people long enough for love to be tested and proven. Christlike love will cost convenience and grow joy on the other side of cost. Repeated commands mean God knows how quickly love cools without rehearsal.
PrayerJesus, again I hear Your command. Love through me as You have loved me, especially where I have waited for others to go first. Amen.
