How to Love like God Does

by Rick Warren — November 4, 2021
From Connecting With God: The Lord's Prayer

“Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory."

Romans 15:7 (NLT)

Did you know that every time you show love, you give glory to God?

Here’s how it works. Every time you show what God is like, you give him glory. And God is love. So when you love, you show God’s glory.

God says, “I am loving. I am compassionate. I want you to be like me. I want you to develop my character.”

You’re never going to be God. But God wants you to become godly. He wants you to develop his character—like father like son, like father like daughter. He wants you to learn to love people the way he loves people.

There are many ways to love like God does. One way to love other people is by accepting them.

Romans 15:7 says, “Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory” (NLT).

God wants you to accept everyone—no matter what. Does that mean you have to approve of everything they do? Of course not!

There’s a difference between acceptance and approval. While God loves and accepts you unconditionally, he doesn’t approve of everything you do. It should be the same for you. You can accept everyone without approving of everything they do.

Love is not saying, “I approve of everything you do.” Love is saying, “I accept you in spite of what you do.”

With every person you encounter today, take the opportunity to give God glory by loving as he loves—with unconditional acceptance.

Talk It Over

  • Who do you need to accept in your life, even if you don’t approve of what that person believes or does?
  • In what areas of culture is acceptance a difficult issue for Christians?
  • What are some practical ways you can show acceptance and love to people, especially the ones the world expects you to turn away from because of what they believe or do?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.