Dark days are among us. They creep up when we aren’t looking. They choke us, punch us in the gut, and attempt to lull us into a place of fear. They look to divide us, making us feel lonely and hopeless. We must remember, in the dark, we have a way forward. The way is love. It’s marked by peace and led by joy. A joy that is untouchable, unsinkable.

For those who follow after Jesus I offer you this for the dark days:

As Christ is your Comforter, may you comfort others.

As Christ is your Healer, may you bring healing to others.

As Christ is your Peace, may you propose peace to others.

As Christ is your Hope, may you deliver hope to others.

As Christ is your Love, would you lavish love on others.

They will know we follow Jesus by our love. Let us love, extend our hands far and wide with the message of love, NOTHING BUT LOVE. That’s all that’s needed. Love is the leader, it changes everything.

I love the way The Message Bible explains 1 Corinthians 13,

 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

Let us love with our minds, our mouths, and our every move. Let us offer love to those hurting as we know a love that will never fade and never end for all eternity. Let us love.

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You may also be encouraged by finding hope in the bittersweet moments of life.