A lover, not a fighter
Posted in Misti's Posts 0 comments
"They will know we are Christians by our love." Jesus tells his followers in John: " My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." 15:12-14
Do we love this way? Obviously, culture tries to lead us into a "me first" attitude. While I see my Christian friends resisting this way of thinking, it still creeps in, even in the most service-minded person. In the line at the grocery store, we fail to let the person with one or two items in front of us. In a large crowd, instead of walking around a clustered group, we walk right through the middle. No one holds doors anymore, or offers to assist the person attempting to move something heavy.
I'd like to re-examine what true love is. 1 Corinthians 13 has been called "the love chapter". The wisdom contained within these passages is the missing link to distinguishing ourselves as Christ's followers:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If we embark on mission trips and attend Christian getaways, but we ignore common courtesy, we appear to others as attention-seeking.
4 Love is patient, (do you have patience with people? on the road? in the store?)
love is kind (would your friends consider you kind or rude?)
it is not jealous (when someone else gets what you wanted, are you genuinely happy for them?)
love does not brag, and is not arrogant (well?)
does not act unbecomingly (have you been caught gossiping or thrown a fit in public?)
is not provoked (do you hold your tongue when angered?)
does not take into account a wrong suffered (are you holding any grudges?)
does not rejoice in unrighteousness (ever think, 'they got what they deserved'?)
How will your friends, neighbors, or strangers you meet know that the Lord is your God? How will they come to know Christ through you if these things are lacking in your life? These are the traits of God, and if we are His true children, they are our traits as well.
Just because we have been adopted into His family through faith by His grace does not mean that these things are suddenly easy for us. The sinful self wars with us our entire lives, telling us we should take care of ourselves first.
My husband and I were in K.C. last weekend at the best place on earth (according to him, at least)-Best Buy. As we were leaving the parking lot we noticed someone two cars ahead of us who had left their purchase on top of their car. We watched them turn the corner, and as expected, the bag slid off the car onto the pavement. While I kept an eye on the car, my husband drove into the middle of the lanes to open his door and pick up the package. Then we hit the gas and caught up with the other car at a stoplight. From the look on the driver's face when I put down my window and held out his purchase, it was pretty obvious he was shocked at being the recipient of such courtesy. It seemed like such a small thing to me at the beginning, but it felt so good to be able to put that kind of smile on his face, and to leave that kind of impression in a split-second encounter.
There are so many people in this world who are just like the man we met that day. They have never encountered anyone who would put another's needs before their own, and they've probably never been the recipient of a sacrificial love that shocks them. That is our calling. We may be the only Jesus they'll ever meet. He gave His life up for us; doesn't He deserve our best efforts in this area?
Do we love this way? Obviously, culture tries to lead us into a "me first" attitude. While I see my Christian friends resisting this way of thinking, it still creeps in, even in the most service-minded person. In the line at the grocery store, we fail to let the person with one or two items in front of us. In a large crowd, instead of walking around a clustered group, we walk right through the middle. No one holds doors anymore, or offers to assist the person attempting to move something heavy.
I'd like to re-examine what true love is. 1 Corinthians 13 has been called "the love chapter". The wisdom contained within these passages is the missing link to distinguishing ourselves as Christ's followers:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If we embark on mission trips and attend Christian getaways, but we ignore common courtesy, we appear to others as attention-seeking.
4 Love is patient, (do you have patience with people? on the road? in the store?)
love is kind (would your friends consider you kind or rude?)
it is not jealous (when someone else gets what you wanted, are you genuinely happy for them?)
love does not brag, and is not arrogant (well?)
does not act unbecomingly (have you been caught gossiping or thrown a fit in public?)
is not provoked (do you hold your tongue when angered?)
does not take into account a wrong suffered (are you holding any grudges?)
does not rejoice in unrighteousness (ever think, 'they got what they deserved'?)
How will your friends, neighbors, or strangers you meet know that the Lord is your God? How will they come to know Christ through you if these things are lacking in your life? These are the traits of God, and if we are His true children, they are our traits as well.
Just because we have been adopted into His family through faith by His grace does not mean that these things are suddenly easy for us. The sinful self wars with us our entire lives, telling us we should take care of ourselves first.
My husband and I were in K.C. last weekend at the best place on earth (according to him, at least)-Best Buy. As we were leaving the parking lot we noticed someone two cars ahead of us who had left their purchase on top of their car. We watched them turn the corner, and as expected, the bag slid off the car onto the pavement. While I kept an eye on the car, my husband drove into the middle of the lanes to open his door and pick up the package. Then we hit the gas and caught up with the other car at a stoplight. From the look on the driver's face when I put down my window and held out his purchase, it was pretty obvious he was shocked at being the recipient of such courtesy. It seemed like such a small thing to me at the beginning, but it felt so good to be able to put that kind of smile on his face, and to leave that kind of impression in a split-second encounter.
There are so many people in this world who are just like the man we met that day. They have never encountered anyone who would put another's needs before their own, and they've probably never been the recipient of a sacrificial love that shocks them. That is our calling. We may be the only Jesus they'll ever meet. He gave His life up for us; doesn't He deserve our best efforts in this area?
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