Happy Valentine's Day!
1 Corinthians 13 shares all about love and what it should look like, act like, feel like, etc. "Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not proud. Love is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always hopes, always trusts, and love always perseveres." Is this really possible?
Have you experienced this type of love in your life? Better yet, have you given it?
This love does exist. In Christ, it exists. Unfortunately, more often, Christians fail at sharing this type of love. Why is a yoga class more accepting than a church? I believe because there is much focus in the yoga class on finding peace within and changing yourself rather than focusing on others. Well meaning as we are, Christians often are so focused on "helping" others, we forget to seek God for ourselves on a regular basis. We accepted Jesus, now we must "fix" the world. Balancing service with our daily need for God becomes a challenge.
The amazing thing about knowing Christ is when we focus on our relationship with Him, we do make a difference in other's lives. People cannot help but be drawn to the light of love. We draw near to Him, He changes our heart, we love more unconditionally and others want to know how they can find the love we found. If only we could remember this daily.
Consider a parent and child scenario: as parents, our children are watching us very closely, mimicking our actions and personality. One day, my first child (at about age 2) was helping me put canned goods away after grocery shopping. Taking one at a time and placing it carefully in a lower cupboard, she was working hard. I was busy putting the cold goods into the refrigerator when I heard her say, "S*&!" YIKES! She even knew exactly when to say it! She dropped a can on the floor and out of the mouths of babes came a curse. Where did she learn this? ME! That very moment, I ignored her reaction and changed my behavior! No way was I raising this beautiful girl to speak in such a manner.
If we want peace in our homes, we must start by being peaceful. If we want others to love, we must be loving. If we want to experience joy, we must seek a joyful spirit. There are no guarantees of reciprocal relationship, but there is no hope if we don't try. There are no guarantees we won't experience hardship, but there is a promise from God to bring joy, peace and freedom in the midst of the suffering.
Challenge for today: Choose one of the "Love is" or "Love isn't" sections in the first paragraph above or ask God to reveal one He would like to see improved in your daily life. Then pray; ask Him to reveal to you what keeps you from loving well in this way.
My challenge will be "love is patient". Patience with others, laying aside my own expectations and allowing others to be who they are today rather than who I wish they would be or hope they will be someday. What's yours?
1 Corinthians 13 shares all about love and what it should look like, act like, feel like, etc. "Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not proud. Love is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always hopes, always trusts, and love always perseveres." Is this really possible?
Have you experienced this type of love in your life? Better yet, have you given it?
This love does exist. In Christ, it exists. Unfortunately, more often, Christians fail at sharing this type of love. Why is a yoga class more accepting than a church? I believe because there is much focus in the yoga class on finding peace within and changing yourself rather than focusing on others. Well meaning as we are, Christians often are so focused on "helping" others, we forget to seek God for ourselves on a regular basis. We accepted Jesus, now we must "fix" the world. Balancing service with our daily need for God becomes a challenge.
The amazing thing about knowing Christ is when we focus on our relationship with Him, we do make a difference in other's lives. People cannot help but be drawn to the light of love. We draw near to Him, He changes our heart, we love more unconditionally and others want to know how they can find the love we found. If only we could remember this daily.
Consider a parent and child scenario: as parents, our children are watching us very closely, mimicking our actions and personality. One day, my first child (at about age 2) was helping me put canned goods away after grocery shopping. Taking one at a time and placing it carefully in a lower cupboard, she was working hard. I was busy putting the cold goods into the refrigerator when I heard her say, "S*&!" YIKES! She even knew exactly when to say it! She dropped a can on the floor and out of the mouths of babes came a curse. Where did she learn this? ME! That very moment, I ignored her reaction and changed my behavior! No way was I raising this beautiful girl to speak in such a manner.
If we want peace in our homes, we must start by being peaceful. If we want others to love, we must be loving. If we want to experience joy, we must seek a joyful spirit. There are no guarantees of reciprocal relationship, but there is no hope if we don't try. There are no guarantees we won't experience hardship, but there is a promise from God to bring joy, peace and freedom in the midst of the suffering.
Challenge for today: Choose one of the "Love is" or "Love isn't" sections in the first paragraph above or ask God to reveal one He would like to see improved in your daily life. Then pray; ask Him to reveal to you what keeps you from loving well in this way.
My challenge will be "love is patient". Patience with others, laying aside my own expectations and allowing others to be who they are today rather than who I wish they would be or hope they will be someday. What's yours?
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