Sometimes those closest to us can be the most difficult people to love. The more we know someone, the more vulnerable we are and more likely to both cause and feel hurt. Today's message looks to the way Jesus responded to the failings of His friends (the disciples) to give us practical ways we can love those who are close. After all, "we love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

We live in a world of separation and conflict. As Christians, we know that God is for us in all things, no matter what we do. Paul reminds us earlier in Romans that we are adopted childen of God, making us co-heirs with Christ. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ despite how we might feel through any of our sufferings - even death cannot separate us. We need to hold onto the promise of this as we serve Him.

All of us need love and we notice it when it is missing. We need to be accepted and be able to love others. In this passage, John talks about the love that comes from God and that He gives us freely when we follow Him. God showed His love through sending His son, Jesus Christ, into this world. True love is about what we can give to others and not about what we receive, and this true love only comes from God.

We have a choice of two ways to live. We can choose to live for ourselves and seek the praise and acknowledgement of other people or we can choose to live in obedience to Jesus Christ by serving others and glorifying God in all that we do. Paul knew the freedom he had in serving Jesus Christ rather than the bondage of the law that he had once been very much tied to. Do you live for yourself or for Jesus Christ?

All of us wanted to be accepted by our family, friends and colleagues. We can find ourselves "performing" to attract others to ourselves, and in doing so, hide our true selves. As Christians, we can do the same thing in seeking the acceptance of God, but He loves us just the way we are. If we want Christ to save us, then we need to let go of the things that get in the way of a true relationship with Him. There is nothing we can do to earn God's grace. We need to live in the victory of what Jesus has already done for us.