Love is.......!

" Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked; does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails!"

I Corinthians 13:4-8a

I am sure that everyone has heard these verses before, especially at weddings! We all love the idea of love being all these things. We often hold our spouse and those that are close to us accountable to these standards of love. Recently I have been quite challenged in my own heart about the way that I love others. I so often find myself being inpatient, unkind, jealous, acting unbecomingly, seeking my own way, provoked, harboring hurts, and so on and so on. 

 When I was growing up I had several girl friends that were close to my age. When we were 5 and 6 years old we all played together and enjoyed each other. A few years went by and that seemed to change. It was all about being best friends and you could only have one best friend. And if you didn't watch out your best friend could be stolen from you and you have to find a new one. It was a vicious game that as small girls we played. Our poor mothers probably didn't know what to do with us.We didn't learn until we were teenagers that we could all get along and we didn't have to have exclusive best friends.As I think back to this time in my life I see some humor in it, but it also makes me very sad. As young girls we wasted so much time competing with one another. It also makes me sad because even as a young adult female I see this still going on. Sadly I see so much of it in the "Christian world."

 I am not sure what it is like for a man, but I know for women it can be very difficult for us to treat each other with this kind of true love. We say that we love each other to each others faces, but then we act differently when the other one is not around. We speak unkindly about each other, we are so often jealous of one another. We are not patient with each others struggles and instead tear each other apart at the first sign of weakness. We want it our way when the other one disagrees with us. We say we will bear each others trails and endure life together, but when it comes right down to it we are only going to stick with you as long as you agree with us. 

 What a sad scenario we have so often created. I wonder what the "world" would think of us if we really loved each other. There is a song that says "They will know we are Christians by our love." Sadly I wonder if  the opposite is really the truth, they know we are Christians because of the way we devour each other. Today I pray that God will stop me from devouring other believers and help me to love them where they are at. Maybe the other person is wrong, maybe I am the one that is right, but I need to let God deal with their heart. I am responsible to be patient, kind, not jealous, not arrogant, not seeking my own, not provoked, not recording wrongs done to me, not rejoicing in unrighteousness, believes, hopes and endures the truth, and always loving to my fellow brother or sister in the Lord!