Hollow religion says, “I must love because I am commanded to.” But love is unlikely to be birthed and nurtured by this sense of obligation.

Love is a gift first to be received: “in your presence there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). It is to turn our hearts to the One who knows us and loves us more than we can possibly imagine.

But love is more than something to merely be enjoyed. It is practice in which we learn to increasingly give love away: “for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9).

The end of all this is a community of Jesus-people defined by self-giving love.

You need this kind of community. We need this kind of community. Your neighbors need this. Your co-workers need this. Your marriage needs this. Your kids need this. Everyone on our planet needs this.

Love.

Let us be taught by God to love one another.