An Honest Prayer: "Help Me to Be Like You, Jesus."

Three days in the books and…{drumroll, please}…hello, day four! We’ve been unwrapping the way God loves us and the way Jesus shows His love for others. The most honest truth? We can’t love like that by our own strength. Through Jesus, we can love others the way He loved. All of this Missional living stuff? We’re going to have to ask Him for some serious assistance. We can’t do it on our own.

My friend, Erica is growing in her relationship with Jesus more and more each day. She often talks of her “pre-Jesus” days. She has repented of her old ways, but is authentic about her past so that others can see the difference Jesus has made. I have never known this friend to judge another person. I have only known her to pray…and pray and pray. She is faithful in the small things and faithful in the big.

When I asked her recently to describe the love of Jesus, she honestly said, “I’m not sure it’s something I can describe. I just pray that God will help me to love the way He loves.” I think there is so much wisdom in that prayer, friends.

As we seek to serve others and grow to know the love of Jesus more and more, perhaps this is the most honest prayer we can pray to love? We can pray to simply love the way He loves. May we yearn for just that? May we desire to love others the way Jesus loves us? This may be the very thing that shows another person the love of our Savior.