Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)
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We seem to think we know what love is, but do we really? Do we really exhibit and experience the standard that God acknowledges as real love? hmm...
We like to think we're patient and kind with those we love. But irritating things can get under our skin faster than lightning, can't they? We like to think we're selfless in loving others, but often, if we drill down to motives, we find that it's not really about the other person, but about us. And keeping a record of wrongs? Wow --now there's a topic for discussion, huh?
If we try to put love on like a shirt -- on the outside, we might have the look of love and maybe even the feel of love, but the heart of love is missing. What I mean is this: until our hearts are changed by God, who is love (1 John 4:8)...until we seek to love from the inside by God's power...until we lay self aside for the sake of another the way God loves us, we're just putting on a love shirt. Looks pretty good on the outside, but eventually you take the shirt off and throw it in the laundry, and then what do you have? Your bare self, who couldn't care less about other people.
Loving someone isn't roses and hearts and candy -- that's the "love shirt" you buy from the store. It's a love "potion" that you drink on the inside -- determined self-sacrifice, where patience and kindness and humility reign, where there's no scoreboard of wins and losses, where care and compassion are real and evident. And only God can give you that potion, because God is the source of real love.
We know that God wants us to love all people. Some are easy to love, and others...well, others can make us grit our teeth. Only God's love, from the inside out, will ever combat our selfish hearts, so that we can be His agents for real love. Let us allow Him to invade our souls with His love potion, that divine elixir from the Holy Spirit that gives our hearts what we really need to love.
Love,
Joelene
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2 comments:
I agree 100%$, Joelene. I think we do this by taking daily steps to put God's love in practice. Thinking of others "more highly than yourself", as Paul puts it, is one way I try to do that.
Monday, I was driving down Hazel Ave near Greenback and a lady driving a stationwagon started drifting into my lane and almost hit me. I honked my horn to get her attention, and saw that she was an older person who was distracted by something on the seat beside her. She looked very embarressed and slowed down so she wouldn't be right next to me. I'm sure she expected some hard stares or glares or maybe yelling from me.
Instead, I thought, I'm OK, and I bet she's very embarressed. I'm sure she didn't drift into my lane intentionally. So, at the next light where I stopped and she caught up with me, I waved a short "don't sweat it" wave to her. She smiled a relieved smile, nodded, and was on her way.
Granted, this is a somewhat silly example, but to me it's the kind of thing we need to do on a daily basis. Consider others, their situations, and have compassion for them. God did it for us, its only right that we pass it on.
Wow, Mike! What a GREAT example of love in action...to a total stranger that could've ticked you off. Thanks for sharing!
Joelene
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