by Sarah Nelson (reprint from 2016)

Colossians 1:3-5  –  “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,  since we heard of  your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,  because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” (ESV)

These verses are ones that I have read many times.  One small word jumped out at me recently when we were reading the passage at WMF.  The word was “all.”  Found in verse 4 – “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for ALL the saints.”   It doesn’t say “the love you have for some, a few, or a couple of the saints,” it clearly says “all the saints.”

Some people are easier to love, or even like, than others.  We may be easier or more difficult to love in others’ experiences if we were to know the truth.   So, how do we learn to love ALL the saints?  We first have to realize, it’s impossible to do in our own strength.  God loves us, and because of HIS love, we can love others.  His unconditional love is never ending and never changing.  When we remember how abundantly He loves us, and how much and often He forgives us; we realize that by His grace, we also can love others.