I'm pretty much fascinated by the concept of love. It's one of my favorite topics to talk and write about, and it's something that I hold very dear to my heart. I don't know what about it is so intriguing to me, but it's something that fills my heart with joy when I think about it. I guess it's the fact that God loves me regardless of how I look, what I do, or what I accomplish. He loves me the same each and every day, and my heart is captivated by the love that Christ pours into my life daily even through my shame and my darkest days.
Okay, so now you know my outlook on love and the importance of it in my life. I'm sure you would think that since it's something so dear and true to my heart that I would have mastered loving others, but that's not necessarily the case. So I've made it a point to start focusing on the aspects of love and centralizing my life around its characteristics. What a better month to start than February, huh?
So we've all heard the "Love Chapter," but for me when I think about it I just imagine a couple getting married. I don't know, maybe that's just me... but I always seem to pair those verses with a relationship between a man and a woman, never with the love I need to be pouring into other people's lives.
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
So I've broken it down for myself and for those of you reading this...
Does this define your attitude?
- patient
- kind
- self-controlled
- gentle
- faithful
- enduring
Or this?
- jealous
- rude
- irritable
- arrogant
- insisting your own way
- rejoicing in the downfalls of others
When I look I those lists I find myself embarrassed. For one who is so intrigued by the concept of love, I feel like I should possess the qualities of it far more than I do. The few aspects of love that I actually do possess don't make up for the rest lost.
It's important to understand and realize that loving others isn't something that we can do with our own strength. It's something that we can only do with the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Everything on the "or this" list screams "MEEEEEEEEEE!" All of the arrogance, the irritability, jealousy, and rudeness puts attention on ourselves when in fact loving others isn't about us; it's about focusing the attention on Christ and glorifying Him. We so often think that love is when someone makes much of us, but really love is only what makes much of God.
So I ask you to pray with me and for me that I can grow spiritually and learn to have a deeper and more personal relationship with Christ because I know that's the only way I can learn to love others the way He loves me. And of course, as always, I will be praying for those of you who take on this challenge with me! I'm excited for this, and I hope those of you doing this are too!
No comments:
Post a Comment