Love: The Perfect Bond of Unity
Daily Scripture
Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Colossians 3
12 Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. 14 And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
1 Corinthians 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, 5 it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, 6 it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. 7 Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
God’s revelation through the ages of what God wishes humans to be was beautifully captured in these verses. If this sounds “soft” compared to visions of power built on force or dominance, Bishop Michael Curry offered a different perspective: “Jesus began the most revolutionary movement in all of human history; a movement grounded in the unconditional love of God for the world; a movement mandating people to live that love, and in so doing to change not only their lives but the very life of the world itself. I’m talking about power. Real power. Power to change the world.” * Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 was strikingly specific: love “isn’t irritable, doesn’t keep a record of complaints, isn’t happy with injustice, but is happy with the truth.” These are concrete, daily choices.
- “As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other.” Sound simple? C. S. Lewis found that forgiveness isn’t as simple as it sounds: “I find that when I think I am asking God to forgive me… I am asking Him not to forgive me but to excuse me…. Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin that is left over without any excuse.” ** How have you learned that you can’t genuinely forgive without loving, and can’t genuinely love without a willingness to forgive?
- As you compare Jesus’ positive impact on our world over 2,000 years with the legacy left by violent, revenge-driven empire-builders, can you understand Bishop Curry’s words about love being “real power—power to change the world”? Where in your life could love’s power make a difference this week?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, give me clarity about my daily need for your forgiving, empowering grace. Grow me into a person who makes genuine forgiving and loving—not excusing—a rhythm of my life. Amen.
GPS Insights
Dr. Ronald Kaluya
Dr. Ronald Kaluya is the Founder and Executive Director of Uganda Counseling and Support Services (UCSS), a nonprofit ministry with a mission to improve the quality of life and spread God’s love to people in Uganda by providing social services, counseling, and spiritual development. He holds degrees in Business, Counseling, and a Doctorate from Saint Paul School of Theology.
Since 2015, UCSS has helped establish 21churches and 45 bible study groups, created structures to send over 1600 children to school, established the Nana Medical Clinic, which reaches 1300 people monthly, trained 25 Mental Health Facilitators, drilled 112 boreholes, and set up 14 model farms and 86 economic groups in several communities.
Outside of his professional life, Dr. Kaluya cherishes spending time with his wife and 2 daughters, engaging in disciple-making, and sharing the love of God.
When I read Apostle Paul’s words in Colossians, I am struck by the reminder that before God tells me what to do, He reminds me of who I am: “God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved.” It is from that identity that I am called to “put on” compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and above all, love—the “perfect bond of unity” (Colossians 3:14). As I read 1 Corinthians 13, I realize that love is far more than a feeling. It is revealed through the daily choices we make—to forgive, to be patient, to be kind, and to seek the good of others. The clearest picture of that love is Jesus Himself. Even while hanging on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34), demonstrating a love that refused to be overcome by hatred.
These verses challenge me to ask whether the love of Christ is becoming visible in the ordinary moments of my life—especially when I am misunderstood, disappointed, or hurt. I think of a local witch doctor who had deliberately done everything in his power to harm us and the Uganda Counseling and Support Services ministry. Yet when he was grieving the loss of a daughter, he came to us—turning to the ministry for help with transportation. Even though we were deeply wounded by his past actions, we recognized that God was giving us an opportunity to extend His love, and we took it.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone has deeply hurt you? How did you choose to demonstrate God’s love?
It is easy to love when others are kind to me; it is much harder to forgive when I have been wounded. Yet that is precisely the love Christ extends to me every day. As C. S. Lewis wisely observed, “To love at all is to be vulnerable” (The Four Loves, 1960). Choosing Christlike love may make me vulnerable, but it also allows God’s transforming power to work through me. My prayer is that God’s love will not simply be something I receive but something that overflows through my life, bringing unity, healing, and hope to those around me.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me with a love I could never earn. Fill my heart with Your compassion and teach me to love as You have loved me. May my words, attitudes, and actions reflect Your grace so that others may experience Your love through me. Amen.
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Curry, Bishop Michael. The Power of Love (pp. 9-10). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
** C. S. Lewis, “On Forgiveness” in The Weight of Glory and other addresses. HarperSanFrancisco, 1976, pp. 178, 181. (Lewis’s entire essay on forgiveness is well worth reading.)
