The Greatest of These is Love: Part 1
This will be a 2-PART entry...I will do part of it today, and the other half tomorrow...so come back tomorrow and finish it!
This one is for EVERYONE...married or single, child or adult, everyone can use this to live the life that God has called us to live as Christians.
Romans 13: 9-10 says..."and if there is any other commandment--all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. "
So all of our commandments are summed up with one sentence...LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF! Who is your neighbor? Everyone...spouses, children, family, friends, coworkers, strangers, enemies, people we have a hard time liking or respecting, people we don't agree with... EVERYONE.
For those of us who are married, it seems that our family (spouses and children) get the short end of the stick when it comes to treating them lovingly. I don't mean that we don't ever do right by them...I just mean that they know how to push our buttons/send us over the edge, and we are comfortable with them and know they will love us anyway...so sometimes we take advantage of that fact and let our inner monster out. And even if the monster is not unleashed on our families, we still don't treat them as nicely and kindly as we do others outside of our home. You know it's the truth! Our families see our worst. And that's the good thing about families, they WILL love us anyway, but we should work hard at loving them with a Godly love.
For singles, this is going to help you determine if you are with a person that understands true love or help you find the one if you haven't already! Take these verses and replace the word "Love" with your boyfriend or girlfriend's name and see if they measure up to God's word. If not, you have some things to work on...or need to move along if they are not willing to work on it with you.
So how do we love our neighbor as ourselves?
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 says..."Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; does not boast; is not proud (conceited); does not act improperly (dishonor others); is not selfish; is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,, always perseveres. Love never fails. (HCSB & NIV)"
This is a popular verse for marriages and weddings, but have we ever really looked at what each part means? Today we will.
Love is PATIENT: Patience is truly a virtue that many people don't have in this day and time...I consider myself a patient person for the most part...but even I catch myself getting aggravated when something is not done exactly when I would like it to be. People say don't pray for patience because God will give you situations to help you work on it...In this world we live in, everything is fast paced and at our fingertips, so when people drive slow, don't take out the trash right now, or don't move fast enough in the checkout line...we get peeved. We have to learn to slow down, and show love to those who are around us. If it were us on the other side...how would we want people to treat us? Would we want someone to give us the finger, nag us until the trash is taken out, or give us dirty looks and an attitude because they are tired of standing in line? NO...we HAVE to learn to show God's love in situations that require patience on our part. Slow down and use these opportunities to spend a few more minutes with the Lord, or sing a praise song. When you feel the impatience rising up...ask the Lord to calm your nerves and heart RIGHT THEN...He will come through.
Love is KIND: We rarely see kindness anymore in this world. Saying we are sorry for cutting someone off in the grocery store or stepping on their toe is not expected or taught anymore. Helping out the person who needs it, or just speaking kind words to people is few and far between. We must make a conscious effort to be kind and considerate of others. If you're young, get up and let that older person sit down while waiting for a table. If you are tall, help that short person reach the top shelf. When it comes to our spouses and children, be kind even when we don't want to. Smile, give hugs and kisses, show genuine interest and happiness when seeing people or meeting people. Pay attention to people when they talk to you. Stop what you are doing and look at them. Don't bash those people on Facebook just because you don't agree with their political views or lifestyle. People need to know we care...genuinely care. Everyone is so caught up in their own lives that they don't take time to show kindness to others. Do something kind for your spouse or family member today. Something they wouldn't expect. For that matter, do something kind for a stranger.
Love does NOT ENVY: The definition of envy is: "a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck." Well now we all have things we want or qualities that we wish we had. But the Lord says that is not how we should live our lives. God made each of us EXACTLY like we are for a reason. There are things about me that bother me...but I have learned to accept myself as a God-creation and keep on keepin' on. Does that mean that we should stop taking care of our bodies or let ourselves go. Absolutely NOT! The Lord expects us to take care of ourselves and our possessions, but He does not want us to resent others who look better (in our opinions), sing better, have a better relationship, have a bigger house, nicer car, you get the point. Be content with what you have been given. We don't always have to have what everyone else has...God has blessed each of us with different things/qualities. Worldly possessions do not make us who we are. When we stand before the Lord one day, he is not going to care what you look like or what you had here on earth...But He may ask us if we loved our neighbors as ourselves.
Love does NOT BOAST; is NOT PROUD (CONCEITED): The definition of boastful and conceited is: "showing excessive pride and self-satisfaction in one's achievements, possessions, or abilities; vain." We all know that person that drives us crazy with stories of how they can or have "one-upped" you. These people are probably some of those that make us practice our patience...Ha! We all are proud of our accomplishments, God-given qualities, and things that we have worked hard to earn. But we have to be careful that we don't take that pride too far and start believing or acting like we are better than others because of what God has allowed us to have. It CAN BE taken from us in an instant, so we must be sure that we are not taking people and possessions for granted. James 4:6 says, "But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." We ALL need grace because that's when God gives us something we don't deserve...like sending His son to die for our sins. So if we expect God to give us grace and mercy, we must show humbleness while on this earth.
Love does NOT ACT IMPROPERLY (DISHONOR OTHERS): This encompasses A LOT of things. In a nutshell, I believe it is talking about integrity. I tell my students all the time that integrity means that you do the right thing even when no one else is looking. We ALL have failed at this...I know I have failed miserably at times. A friend of mine and I have this inside joke about picking trash up off the ground when we walk by it. I said I was always afraid there would be one of those hidden cameras somewhere that would bust me out if I didn't pick it up. So if I see it, I pick it up. I have even turned around and gone back to pick it up after walking by...now this is funny and sounds ridiculous, but if you really think about it, we always have a hidden camera. God SEES ALL THINGS and KNOWS ALL THINGS, so basically, no matter where we are or what we are doing, God Knows! So...practice showing integrity...DO THE RIGHT THING even if no one will see, no one will know, or no one will pat you on the back...because God sees, knows, and will reward you one day.
Come back tomorrow for Part 2!
This one is for EVERYONE...married or single, child or adult, everyone can use this to live the life that God has called us to live as Christians.
Romans 13: 9-10 says..."and if there is any other commandment--all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love therefore, is the fulfillment of the law. "
So all of our commandments are summed up with one sentence...LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF! Who is your neighbor? Everyone...spouses, children, family, friends, coworkers, strangers, enemies, people we have a hard time liking or respecting, people we don't agree with... EVERYONE.
For those of us who are married, it seems that our family (spouses and children) get the short end of the stick when it comes to treating them lovingly. I don't mean that we don't ever do right by them...I just mean that they know how to push our buttons/send us over the edge, and we are comfortable with them and know they will love us anyway...so sometimes we take advantage of that fact and let our inner monster out. And even if the monster is not unleashed on our families, we still don't treat them as nicely and kindly as we do others outside of our home. You know it's the truth! Our families see our worst. And that's the good thing about families, they WILL love us anyway, but we should work hard at loving them with a Godly love.
For singles, this is going to help you determine if you are with a person that understands true love or help you find the one if you haven't already! Take these verses and replace the word "Love" with your boyfriend or girlfriend's name and see if they measure up to God's word. If not, you have some things to work on...or need to move along if they are not willing to work on it with you.
So how do we love our neighbor as ourselves?
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 says..."Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; does not boast; is not proud (conceited); does not act improperly (dishonor others); is not selfish; is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,, always perseveres. Love never fails. (HCSB & NIV)"
This is a popular verse for marriages and weddings, but have we ever really looked at what each part means? Today we will.
Love is PATIENT: Patience is truly a virtue that many people don't have in this day and time...I consider myself a patient person for the most part...but even I catch myself getting aggravated when something is not done exactly when I would like it to be. People say don't pray for patience because God will give you situations to help you work on it...In this world we live in, everything is fast paced and at our fingertips, so when people drive slow, don't take out the trash right now, or don't move fast enough in the checkout line...we get peeved. We have to learn to slow down, and show love to those who are around us. If it were us on the other side...how would we want people to treat us? Would we want someone to give us the finger, nag us until the trash is taken out, or give us dirty looks and an attitude because they are tired of standing in line? NO...we HAVE to learn to show God's love in situations that require patience on our part. Slow down and use these opportunities to spend a few more minutes with the Lord, or sing a praise song. When you feel the impatience rising up...ask the Lord to calm your nerves and heart RIGHT THEN...He will come through.
Love is KIND: We rarely see kindness anymore in this world. Saying we are sorry for cutting someone off in the grocery store or stepping on their toe is not expected or taught anymore. Helping out the person who needs it, or just speaking kind words to people is few and far between. We must make a conscious effort to be kind and considerate of others. If you're young, get up and let that older person sit down while waiting for a table. If you are tall, help that short person reach the top shelf. When it comes to our spouses and children, be kind even when we don't want to. Smile, give hugs and kisses, show genuine interest and happiness when seeing people or meeting people. Pay attention to people when they talk to you. Stop what you are doing and look at them. Don't bash those people on Facebook just because you don't agree with their political views or lifestyle. People need to know we care...genuinely care. Everyone is so caught up in their own lives that they don't take time to show kindness to others. Do something kind for your spouse or family member today. Something they wouldn't expect. For that matter, do something kind for a stranger.
Love does NOT ENVY: The definition of envy is: "a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck." Well now we all have things we want or qualities that we wish we had. But the Lord says that is not how we should live our lives. God made each of us EXACTLY like we are for a reason. There are things about me that bother me...but I have learned to accept myself as a God-creation and keep on keepin' on. Does that mean that we should stop taking care of our bodies or let ourselves go. Absolutely NOT! The Lord expects us to take care of ourselves and our possessions, but He does not want us to resent others who look better (in our opinions), sing better, have a better relationship, have a bigger house, nicer car, you get the point. Be content with what you have been given. We don't always have to have what everyone else has...God has blessed each of us with different things/qualities. Worldly possessions do not make us who we are. When we stand before the Lord one day, he is not going to care what you look like or what you had here on earth...But He may ask us if we loved our neighbors as ourselves.
Love does NOT BOAST; is NOT PROUD (CONCEITED): The definition of boastful and conceited is: "showing excessive pride and self-satisfaction in one's achievements, possessions, or abilities; vain." We all know that person that drives us crazy with stories of how they can or have "one-upped" you. These people are probably some of those that make us practice our patience...Ha! We all are proud of our accomplishments, God-given qualities, and things that we have worked hard to earn. But we have to be careful that we don't take that pride too far and start believing or acting like we are better than others because of what God has allowed us to have. It CAN BE taken from us in an instant, so we must be sure that we are not taking people and possessions for granted. James 4:6 says, "But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." We ALL need grace because that's when God gives us something we don't deserve...like sending His son to die for our sins. So if we expect God to give us grace and mercy, we must show humbleness while on this earth.
Love does NOT ACT IMPROPERLY (DISHONOR OTHERS): This encompasses A LOT of things. In a nutshell, I believe it is talking about integrity. I tell my students all the time that integrity means that you do the right thing even when no one else is looking. We ALL have failed at this...I know I have failed miserably at times. A friend of mine and I have this inside joke about picking trash up off the ground when we walk by it. I said I was always afraid there would be one of those hidden cameras somewhere that would bust me out if I didn't pick it up. So if I see it, I pick it up. I have even turned around and gone back to pick it up after walking by...now this is funny and sounds ridiculous, but if you really think about it, we always have a hidden camera. God SEES ALL THINGS and KNOWS ALL THINGS, so basically, no matter where we are or what we are doing, God Knows! So...practice showing integrity...DO THE RIGHT THING even if no one will see, no one will know, or no one will pat you on the back...because God sees, knows, and will reward you one day.
Come back tomorrow for Part 2!
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