I have called you My friends and commissioned you to love others as I have loved you (John 15:12–15). Love that builds friendship and community is cultivated through your everyday actions. It is demonstrated through your outgoing concern, and your willingness to give of yourself to be a friend, a companion, and a listening ear. It means taking the time to walk alongside someone who is experiencing a season of loneliness or sorrow, to encourage others in their time of need and help lift their burdens.
You can reflect My love to others through acts and deeds of kindness and caring, helping to carry their load, and showing consideration and thoughtfulness. Take the time to notice the people around you and appreciate them, to offer them words of encouragement and hope. Look for ways to make their day a little brighter, more hopeful, less stressful, and less burdensome.
There is a special joy that comes from placing others and their needs above your own. Kind actions and deeds don’t just benefit those who are on the receiving end—they also benefit you. The joy that comes through caring and generous actions produces a deep sense of fulfillment and purpose. When you do something kind and loving for someone else, you are blessed in return. As you give of what you have received, I have promised to pour forth My blessings to you in good measure until they are running over (Luke 6:38).