Do you have trouble walking in love? When that crazy driver cuts you off in traffic or that co-worker blows the team project, do you find yourself reacting in anger, impatience, and unkindness instead of responding in love, patience, and kindness?  If so, I’d like to suggest to you a simple practice that, if applied, will turn your life around.  It’s called the One-Minute Love Walk.

Okay. Lest you think I’m being totally unrealistic, listen up.  There is an old saying that goes like this:  “Inch by inch, anything’s a cinch; yard by yard, it’s hard.”  This saying applies perfectly to walking in love. If we look at the prospect of walking in love every single minute of every single day, we may feel overwhelmed and think it’s impossible.  But if we look only at the next minute and determine that we are going to love for only the next minute, then the seemingly impossible becomes possible.

So, how does this  work?  It’s a simple two-step process:

1) Decide that everything you think, say, and do for the next minute only you will think, say, and do motivated only by love.

2) When you’ve succeeded to walk in love for an entire minute, move on  to the next minute and decide to do the same thing.

By the time you put your head on your pillow at night, you will have walked in love for several hours. What’s more, you will feel good that you have obeyed Christ’s command to “love one another” (John 13:34).

Walking in love is a command.  But it is a command we can keep only by staying in close relationship with Jesus Christ. The truth is that we cannot love without Jesus because it is Jesus Who actually loves others through us. We are simply the conduits of His love. The more we abide in Him, the more easily we will love others.

There is nothing in the universe greater than love. In fact, Scripture tells us that God is Love (I John 4:8).  Love is the very essence of God’s nature.

So, the next time the enemy tempts you to react out of fear instead of love, stop and take a deep breath. Then determine that for the next minute only, you will walk in love. As you do this day after day, you will notice that your life is being transformed to one of great peace and joy.

Questions: 1) Why do you think people fail to respond in love?  Why is fear considered the opposite of love? How will walking in love change your life? You may leave a comment by clicking here.  To receive these blog posts in your emailbox, please click here.
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Copyright 2015 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.