Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. ~ Ephesians 5:2 (NLT)
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How do we live our lives? What are they "filled" with?
I know I can get caught up in a lot of things throughout my days that wouldn't be considered loving. Not unloving, per se, but not loving either. Because loving has to have an object -- it is an action. When we serve ourselves, we're not loving (except ourselves) as the Bible talks about.
When I'm out shopping for myself at the department store, am I filling my life with love, or am I filling my life with loving me? Yet, while I am shopping, if my heart is set on loving others as Christ loved us, I am certain to find ways to love those in that store...
~ The woman who didn't think about getting a cart before she started loading up her arms with sweaters and skirts. Selfishness shakes its head and strolls away, saying that woman is just dumb. If my cart is empty, the loving thing to do would be to give her mine -- or heaven forbid, leave my full cart and go out of my way to go get her an empty one...
~ The clerk who can't seem to get the barcode scanner or the register to work properly because it's only her second day on the job. Selfishness will roll its eyes and make heavy sighs to make sure this clerk knows my impatience. But the loving thing to do would be to simply reassure her that she's doing just fine, encouraging someone who's just trying to earn an honest living...
~ That isle where people have scavenged the shelves so that pillows and rugs are all over the floor. Selfishness would mumble about the rude shoppers who did this, and take a different isle to avoid the chaos on the floor. But the loving thing to do would be to pick the stuff up, so that merchandise isn't damaged by yours or anyone else's cart...
With a life filled with love, even a "selfish" trip to the department store becomes about loving others and not just about indulging oneself in a new pair of shoes.
We really are on mission all day, every day -- to live a life filled with love, as Christ loved us. That means in our home, in our church, at the store, on the soccer field, in our car -- you name it! Believe me -- you will never run out of opportunities to love other people. So keep your eyes open and roll up your sleeves for another day on the mission field!
Love,
Joelene
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