“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines 
the course of your life.” ~ Proverbs 4:23

“Matters of the Heart” is a weekly blog that deals with the deepest issues of the human heart, the issues we all face but sometimes don’t want to talk about. The heart is the programming center of our lives. What is programmed into our heart will affect every area of our lives. Learn how to examine your heart and how to program your heart for success.

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I have often been described as a “people-person.” The connotation implied is that I love people. And that is absolutely true!  I absolutely love people! 🙂

But loving people has not come easily for me. It is not a natural ability, but a supernatural one, because, basically, like all people, I am a sinner. Loving people is a grace from God that I have received as a result of being born again and of having learned how to let Christ live in me and through me.

God loves people! God loves us! And He loves us in a way that we all need to learn if we want to have good, healthful relationships in life.  

So, how does God love us? Here are three key ways:

1–God loves us unconditionally. This means He places no conditions on His love for us. He loves us when we obey Him, and He loves us when we disobey Him. He loves us when we’re happy, and He loves us when we’re sad. He loves us when we are pleasant to be around, and He loves us when we are ornery or downright nasty. 

2–God loves us by asserting our worth. God makes us feel valued, no matter where we’ve come from nor what kind of past we’ve had. Think of the woman at the well. Jesus valued her by talking with her. According to Jewish law, Jews were forbidden to communicate with Samaritans. But Jesus superseded the law, spoke with her, and transformed her life by sharing the Gospel with her. If we want to love others, we need to assert their worth by making them feel valuable. We do this by respecting them, honoring them, and giving them our attention.

3–God loves us by accepting us just as we are. To get along with others, we need to accept them as they are, not as we want them to be. We need to love them in spite of their flaws, not just because of their virtues. We need to give them space to be who God created them to be.

Loving other people depends on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Author Bonnie Davidsion writes: “Our relationship with God will determine our relation­ship with other people.” This is a profound statement, worthy of pondering. We will love other people to the degree that we love God. And the only way we can love God is by accepting His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus alone can enable us to love as the Father loves.  

Bottom line, the only way we can truly get along with people is by loving them. And the only way we can truly love them is by allowing Jesus Christ to love them through us. There is no other way.  #

Now, it’s YOUR turn: What challenges have you faced in getting along with other people? Please leave your valued comment in the box below.

TWEETABLE: “HOW TO GET ALONG WITH EVERYONE” by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET).

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