Kind Love

 

The last Sunday in February and we are rounding out our monthly series on Love!  1 Corinthians 13 has been aptly named, “The Love Chapter”.  In this chapter, Paul is speaking to the church of Corinth.  Corinth had become morally corrupt, and the word ‘love’ was having less and less meaning.  In walks our friend Paul to help set the record straight.  Paul has a way of just putting it out there!!  During this chapter, Paul outlines what love is, and what it is not.

There are days when I do not give much thought to life outside of my own circle.  When I reflect on that, it is because I have more control over my own circle.  I can react the way I want, I can engage or disengage if I choose.  It is simpler.  Days when I step back and look at the world around me, in a way, we are living in Corinth.  There is good out there, but it seems to be overshadowed by so much hurt, so much destruction and a lack of patience and kindness. 

In walks our verse for today.  Paul shares what love is.  It is patient.  The Oxford definition shares patience as tolerating delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.  Patience!  Oh, my friends, may I confess, there are days when I lack patience.  Sitting in traffic, waiting for someone, something not going the way “I” want it to proceed – lack of patience arises.  Certainly, I am not showing any love during those situations.  When I think back on those times, I am in ‘my’ circle.  I have control over how I react.  I step back and many times, I lift a prayer to Jesus, asking Him for the patience I am lacking.

Kindness?  We all agree that we are kind.  Defined, kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.  I regard myself as a kind person.  In fact, I was voted friendliest in high school!  But there is more to kindness than being friendly.  Am I always generous?  Am I always considerate?  When I bring those words into the mix, the evaluation can be a bit more critical – and rightfully so.  Generosity is so much more than material items, it means your time, your emotion, and your forgiveness. 

My friends, we may find the world around us not exuding much patience or kindness.  That can be true.  Yet, it does not mean we need to succumb to that world.  We are God’s children.  We live in His world.  Bring the greatest of what Jesus has given us, love, with us each and every day.  Wake up with a patient heart.  Live the day with kindness.  Show the world you are a child of God and that the love we know we have in Jesus lives with us throughout the day.  We will stumble; we are human!  Yet, if we do our best to move forward with the love that God knows we can, we could actually change the world, even if it is in our own circle.  If we put enough circles together, we can get to infinity.  Let us bring an infinite amount of love to the world! And as Paul says, “Love never fails.”  Let us show we are Christians by our love!!

Dearest Jesus, we live by the knowledge that you loved us so much, that you died on the cross for us – all of us!  May we take that knowledge and live out the love you so abundantly give to us.  May each of our love circles bring the world an infinite amount of love.  In your love-filled name I pray, Amen.

Love Deeply

 

Love is hard.  It is not for the faint hearted.  Whether it is spousal love, sibling love, parent love, children love, friendship love - it can all be hard.  With a spouse, you start your marriage on your wedding day, thinking every day will be that wonderful.  When they bring the new baby home, you may believe you will be close forever.  The support of a parent may feel like you can do anything you want.  The birth of a child has us believing they will love us for a lifetime.  A close friendship can feel as if love is never-ending.  There are times of true joy and exuberance. 

In love, there are other times of disappointment and pain.  Our spouse does not share love the way we expect.  Our siblings turn cold shoulders.  Our parents discipline us.  Our child turns their back.  Our friend walks away.  We enter a love relationship with the expectation of it always being the ‘high’ of our life, never the ‘low.’  The key word in the last sentence is EXPECTATION.  I know I have entered many relationships with the picture-perfect expectation of what “I” think love looks like.  When that picture does not materialize, disappointment sets in.  The result?  Hurt feelings and a sinful nature of thoughts and actions.

Our verse for today shares so much of not when or who we should love, but how we should love.  Any relationship worth cherishing is worth the work, hard work.  What does that look like?  It is time to exit the picture of unicorns and butterflies and focus on the reality of living in a fallen world.  Each of us is a sinner.  Yes, my friends, it is not always the ‘other’ person who is a sinner, we are as well.  Our behaviors, our thoughts, our actions will also yield a sinful life.

This love verse reminds us of that.  As Peter reminded Christians long ago, we need to work had at love each other.  We need to dig deep and remind ourselves why we have this relationship with the other person, and then we need to do what Jesus does for us each minute of each day.  Forgive.  “… love covers a multitude of sins.”  It also covers a multitude of unmet expectations.  If we are setting expectations, let us review them periodically.  If the expectations have been set together with the other person, a check-in may be worth conducting.  If expectations are set silently, then there needs to be a check-in of how realistic they are, and certainly a conversation of sharing.

Love conquers all.  It conquers the hard stuff.  It conquers our sinful nature.  It conquers unrealistic expectations.  It conquers disappointment.  I cannot imagine how hard I have made it for Jesus to love me!  My sins, the constant disappointment, the actions, and words that I am sure leave Him saying, “Why did she say/do that?”  As I reflect on my own sinful nature, I have to also turn to my Savior, who rushes in and whose love does not just cover a multitude of my sins, but ALL of my sins.  Let us take a page from Jesus’ book, once again, on how to live our lives.  May we love so deeply that sins are covered by our love.  The strength to do that can only come from our simple faith in Jesus – He will provide.

Dearest Jesus, thank you for being our guide of how to love each other here on earth.  May we deeply love all those around us, knowing that our own sinful nature is as strong as their sins.  May our love cover a multitude of sins.  Amen! 

No Barriers

 

We were driving through the Green Mountain National Forest yesterday in Vermont.  Such true beauty, even in the middle of winter.  On either side of us were incredible mountains and mountain views.  One can truly feel as if they were in a mountain tunnel, with no way to escape but to move forward or backward.  As we continued on our journey, I looked out over the mountains and brooks and the expanse of meadows.  It gave new meaning to ‘being in the middle of nowhere.’

Throughout our marriage, my husband and I have often discussed the dream of living far removed from civilization.  As much as we believe it will bring peace and relaxation into our lives, there is also a sense of distancing - being separated from people.  There are days that this separation sounds like pure joy.  Yet, as we all know, there are pros and cons to every life situation, including separation from civilization.

I have always loved this particular verse in the Bible.  Whether there are days where I value a sense of isolation or days that isolation brings me sadness, I can revel in the fact that I am truly never alone.  No matter where I am, or more importantly, what I do, my Jesus will always love me and be near me.  I have to admit, there have been times in my life when I wished I could be separated from Jesus.  Sins that I have committed or thoughts that I had led me to try and ‘be separated’ from Jesus.   Why would I want that separation?  I do not want Him to be disappointed in me.

I then think about this distance from Jesus and my heart aches.  The one person who I can always rely on, why would I want any barrier between Him and me?  Then, this verse comes to mind and is the reminder I need that Jesus will always be with me, regardless of physical distance, or sinful distance.  Living in the knowledge that my Jesus’ love will surround me, blanket me, and never leave me provides me the comfort my heart and soul need.

We can all struggle with separation, whether physical or mindful.  We can all struggle with the sense of being removed from ones we love.  Sometimes those barriers are in mileage and location. Other times, the barrier may be in estrangement.  Certainly, other times may be a result of health reasons, leaving ones we love to have barriers to knowing us and loving us the way that we knew all our lives.  This can be a difficult pill to swallow and often can result in loneliness.  My friends, if you are struggling with any barriers between you and your loved ones, do not lose hope.  You will always have love in your lives.  Jesus is ALWAYS there to shower you with His love and is there to bridge those barriers with heartfelt memories and joy of reuniting in heaven.

Love shows itself in so many different ways.  May we hold on to the simple faith that Jesus’ love will reign in our lives.  May we continue to be the beacon of love to those we connect with.  May Jesus continue to shower His love on you!

Dearest Jesus, thank you for not letting anything come between your love for me.  Help me to be reminded when the world can feel isolated that you will continue to let your love cascade over me.  May this knowledge bring a smile to my face and peace to my heart.  Amen!

Love in Unity

 

Let the Love Flow!!  As we begin the month of February, I will be focusing on love verses, and all the examples Jesus helps us to see love throughout the Bible. I have to share; this crossed my mind, especially this past week.  Day after day, I saw situations where love was absent.  There were small places and large places, but around every corner the need to be first, or right, or better, or pride, took over the need to be together.

It started with a snowstorm we had on Monday.  Driving to work that morning, I was amazed at the people who could not wait, who could not let others in on a merge, who needed to blow their horns in anger, versus having compassion for others driving in the snow.  I got to work safely and pondered about the folks who performed those acts.  If they had reacted just a tad differently, they would not have started their day off in a more giving way.

Throughout the balance of the week, I continued to see it again.  People lashing out to others instead of responding with love.  The need to prove “I am right” or “I am better than you” took center stage.  It tore at my heart to see the body language of the folks who were the recipients of this behavior.  The look of rejection or lack of self-worth was all over their faces.  I thought about my actions over the past week, and I am certain that I, as well, did not respond with love in all situations.  There were times when I could have chosen different words or different actions to provide a better outcome.  Reflect with me.  Have there been times when you could have responded with love? I can guarantee that although we may want to respond this way, time or pride can get the better of us. 

Paul reminds us of something important in this particular verse.  Love binds us together in unity.  As I look around my small world and into the larger one, we all could use a bit more love.  Instead of finding ways to bring division, let us find ways to bring unity.  It starts in our own families – opportunities for us to share love versus contentious behaviors.  It starts at work, having patience for the new coworker who is demonstrating difficulty for ‘catching on’ to new processes.  It starts at the grocery store by letting someone who only has one item to your thirty to go in front of you.  And, just maybe, it shows up on the road, by letting the person take that great parking space versus you ‘gunning’ for it.  Building people up.  Binding people together.  This is the love that Jesus wants us to share.  Think about the incredible and unconditional love our Savior shows for us each and every day.  Think about the unity He has brought into your life.

It is time to ‘let the love flow’ and show the love Jesus has for us to others.  It is time for us to build people up and bind people together in the unity of love.  May we all focus on this in the coming week and find a way to share God’s love with those around us.

Dearest Jesus, you so freely share your love with us.  May we learn from the way you love us and love others.  May they know we are Christians by our love!  Help us to identify moments where love needs to be present – and may we be the ones to bring that love.  Amen!