Love is a Gift of The Spirit

Love is the first fruit of the Spirit which is listed in Galatians 5:22. When the Holy Spirit controls our life, a special kind of unconditional love is produced within us. One is able to care for and react to others as God has commanded us to do.

In Matthew 22:36-40, the Pharisees asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the Law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “You must love The Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” We must love God, others, and ourselves. Because God loved us first, we are shown how to love. The expression of love within us becomes witness to others of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This ability to feel and express love, compassion, and empathy in an unconditional way is not a worldly trait. God’s gift of love in our lives enables us to feel and see ourselves and others as God sees us; in a spiritual or supernatural way. Loving ourselves is important because how would we be able to love others if we don’t love and respect ourselves. Unforgiveness is a hindrance to unconditional love. God will help us to forgive others and ourselves when we bring our needs and shortcomings to Him. He will do for us that which we are unable to do for ourselves.

I can think of many times in my nursing career when I was able to react compassionately in love while taking care of some very unlovely or difficult individuals. God gave me the ability to see past their outward rude or offensive history, behaviors, or actions. I was given the gift of love so that I could react to them as I knew Christ would have done. I would begin each day in prayer asking the Lord to make me His vessel in the lives of those who would cross my path throughout my course of duty. When a patient recognized and would gratefully comment or compliment me, I would point upward and say, “It’s not me, it is Him in me”. This was the truth and I am so grateful for the gift of faith and the gifts of the Spirit which I have been given.