A whole handbook

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12 ESV)

 Although to love one another is a commandment from the Lord, the love that He gives us in order to do so is a reward, because it’s His wonderful love for us that enables us to pour out His love upon others. “We love because he first loved us”. (1 John 4:19)
 The Lord has given us a whole handbook in His Word for how to love. He commissions each of us to grow in our love for others.
 But how do we overflow with His love? It starts with looking to Him and drawing nigh to Him and seeking Him and putting Him first in our lives, loving Him with our whole heart.
 But we can’t share His love effectively with others unless we experience it ourselves, and one of the primary ways we can experience it is by being quiet and letting Him fill us in loving communion with Him.
 We can only get filled up by being still, and we can only love others by His power and grace, because our love is not enough. The Lord is the One who gives us the power of His love, this great gift from Him to fulfill the commission He has given us to show His love to the world and to love each other. —Maria Fontaine [1]

 Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul. —Saint Augustine

[1] Anchor The Call to Love