2月15日

標　　題： 學習去愛

經　　節： 又願主叫你們彼此相愛的心，並愛眾人的心都能增長，充足，如同我們愛你們一樣。……論到弟兄們相愛，不用人寫信給你們；因為你們自己蒙了神的教訓，叫你們彼此相愛。（帖撒羅尼迦前書三章12節，四章9節）

神是愛（約翰一書四：16），祂全然的本性是完全的愛。然而，因為罪的緣故，愛不總能自由且自然地臨到祂的兒女。你自小生長的環境，可能缺乏愛的表達。也許你曾被所愛的人傷害，於是你的心變得剛硬，好保護自己不再繼續受傷害。你可能心裡有愛，卻不知該如何用言語和行動，表達自己的情感。你可能心灰意冷，因為你被呼召去愛，卻不瞭解該如何去愛。保羅寫信給帖撒羅尼迦的基督徒，鼓勵他們在學習彼此相愛時，不要氣餒（帖撒羅尼迦前書三：7）。他們不需要保羅教他們如何去愛，因為神自己會教他們如何愛別人。神會賜給他們祂的大愛，當他們跟隨祂時，祂會倍增他們的愛。如果他們發現有些人難以去愛，神會使他們靠著聖靈去愛。神的恩典夠我們用，祂的恩典在人的軟弱上顯得完全。祂已經預備好要教導我們如何去愛。沒有人是例外的、不能愛的。神能教導，即使是去愛那些最難相處的人。是否有誰讓你覺得難以付出愛心？神會幫助你。祂將賜下你從未經歷且從未擁有過的愛，去愛你的父母、配偶、小孩、朋友，甚或敵人。如果不知道如何以對方能接受的方式，來表達你的愛，神會教導你怎麼做。神是愛的權威。當你與人相交，求神使祂的愛藉著你湧流出來。

Learning to Love

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you. . .But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. (1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9)

God is love (1 John 4:16). His very nature is perfect love, but because of sin love does not always come freely and naturally to His children. You may have been raised in a home where love was not expressed. Perhaps you were hurt by someone you loved, and your heart became hardened as a defense against further pain. You may love others but not know how to express your love in words or actions. You may feel frustrated because you have been called by God to love, yet you do not understand how to love others.

Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica to encourage them not to become disheartened as they learned to love each other (1 Thess. 3:7). They did not need Paul to explain to them how to love, for God Himself would teach them how to love one another. God would give them His love, and as they followed Him, He would cause that love to multiply. If they found someone who was difficult to love, God would enable them to love through His Holy Spirit.

God in His grace has made provision for our human weakness, and He is prepared to teach us how to love one another. There are no exceptions. God can teach us to love even that especially difficult person.

Are you struggling to love someone? God will help you. He will enable you to love your parents, your spouse, your children, your friends, or your enemy in a deeper way than you could ever love them on your own. If you do not know how to express your love in a meaningful way, God will teach you how to do this. God is the authority on love. As you relate to others, ask God to make His love overflow to them through your life.