Ready, Set, Love!

Many friendly competitions have started with these words – “Ready, set, go!” or “Get ready, get set, go!” These words signify that action is imminent, whether it be a foot race or a marshmallow eating contest. There is this moment of anticipation that something is about to begin.

Ready. When competitors hear that word, they are supposed to prepare themselves. This is mental preparation. The time for waiting is over, and it is just about time to act. Be on the alert because it’s almost go time. Get ready.

Set. This word tells competitors that they should make sure their bodies are in position This is physical preparation. This is the time to do whatever you need to do to be sure that your body can spring into action in the next moment. Get set.

Go! It’s on this command that the competition begins – the moment that the preparation turns into action. At this point, there’s no time for one more stretch or any additional practice. The race has begun. Go!

Today is a day when many of us celebrate love. Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark kind of holiday. There are people who are into it and people who can’t wait for it to be over. But taking the time to think about love isn’t a bad idea. In the words of a song that Dionne Warwick made popular in 1966 – “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.”

It’s been a long, hard year. People are tired and worn out. There’s been loss, disappointment, contention, and plenty of stress. As believers in Christ, we have an opportunity to step up and share God’s love with people who really need it. It’s not really a competition, but it certainly is a challenge. A challenge issued to us straight from God’s Word.

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” (1 John 4:7-12, NLT)

“‘So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.'” (John 13:34-35, NLT)

We should consider ourselves challenged. Our Father has given us clear directions. If we haven’t loved well lately, today is a new day. Let’s step up to the start line.

Get ready. We need mental preparation for this challenge. We need to find out all that God has to say about loving others in His Word. We need to pray that He will teach us to love like He does and that He will give us opportunities to demonstrate His love. We also need to depend on the Holy Spirit who is at work in us to produce that kind of love. These preparations are completely necessary if we are to succeed.

Get set. There is physical preparation involved as well. We have to put ourselves in a position to love and serve others. We need to be where the hurting people are in order to love them well. That might require leaving the confines of our comfort zones. We might even have to take on a position of humility (I’m reminded of Jesus taking up the basin and the towel).

Love! It’s time to spring into action. There are hurting people all around us who need the hope that we have. Let’s spend ourselves on loving them. As we do that, God’s love can be brought to full expression in us, and the world will know that we are His.

Dear Father, You are love, and You teach us how to love. Please help us to have a compassionate heart toward the people around us who need to know Your love. Prepare us mentally and physically to be able to share Your love with others this week as we have the opportunity. May we have open eyes to see those opportunities, and may Your love at work in and through us bring hope to the hurting. Amen.

-Dana