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Key Bible Verse: "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12) Dig Deeper: Matthew 5:43-48

I could accept the fact that HFE employees loved working for the Herschends, and even that the Herschends loved them back. But I was struggling with the word love and how to define it in a way the employees would understand and accept. Then I remembered a talk I'd heard many years before.

[On our wedding day, our pastor Terry told my wife, Marki, and me], "You can't imagine this today, but there will come a day when you are frustrated with each other; you may not feel like you love each other. You may not even feel like you like each other in the moment. Joel and Marki, that's when you need to behave like you love each other."

Treating someone with love regardless of how you feel about that person is a very powerful principle. This type of love is the basis for all healthy relationships, bringing out the best in ourselves and others. It can make us great spouses, great parents, and great friends. Great leaders too.

All too often, however, when we read the word love, we automatically think about romantic love—the emotional kind. What I'm talking about, however, is love the verb, [agape in Greek], not the emotion. I'm talking about actions, not feelings.

—Joel Manby in Love Works

My Response: How do my actions demonstrate love for those I lead?

Thought to Apply: [Selfless love] serves for the sake of the one being served, and serves in the way it likes being served—whether it ever receives such service or not.—John Macarthur (pastor)

Adapted from Love Works (Zondervan, 2012) by permission, New Year's Day: The One Year Book of Encouragement (Tyndale, 2010). All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2013 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, in the situations where I am a leader, help me to submit my pride and ambition to you and lead with love for those who follow.

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