As followers of Jesus, we often desire to be fueled with an ability to love others well, right? We have high hopes to always be faithful and to maintain this Christlike love consistently in our lives. But…it can get tiring at times. As humans, our patience runs thin. Our fuses can be short. And before we know it, we mess up. Our words can come out unkind. Maybe we slip back into unhealthy habits of gossip—uh, I mean, “venting.” Perhaps we find ourselves in unhealthy seats of judgment toward others.

Whatever the case may be, we fall short again and again. So, it’s going to take a solid search of whom or what we are turning to as the source of our ability to love if we are to understand how to keep it sustainable for more than a fleeting New Year’s resolution.

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints…”

Colossians 1:3-4 gives us a clue! Paul, writing to the believers in Colossae, points out love and faith as two qualities this group is practicing well! Clearly, it had become a reputation for the church of Colossae, so I don’t know about you…but I’m ready to dig in and find out how I can get the recipe for this kind of love. You too?

When we read a bit further, we get our answer.

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.”

From this seemingly simple conclusion of one sentence, we have struck gold when it comes to our quest for a lasting ability to love. When we love others, we cannot do so from mustered strength on our own. We can’t solely rely on self-care to get us in a healthy state. We’ll never successfully will our way there. Nope! We can’t expect to love like Christ unless we keep a heavenly perspective of the hope awaiting us.

Do you know why this encourages me? It thrills me to know that, no matter how tired I am, no matter what circumstances make my week crummy, no matter the sadness I grieve, I have a sustained ability to love others like Christ and to keep my faith firmly planted in the Truth of God’s promises. Why? Because I’m not relying on anything earthly whatsoever. I’m relying on a solid and foundational hope in the unchanging, Good News of Jesus.

Friends, we live in a world desperate to figure out earthly methods for accomplishing desires that were meant to be fulfilled by Jesus alone. Today, let’s fix our gaze heavenward—not to escape our responsibility to love those around us here and now, but to draw our strength from the only sustainable source.  

— Emily Heaton