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Sunday, September 16, 2012

To Love Like He Loves

God is love...
I think that is one of the first bible verses a child learns.
And that love is the love that redeems us.
He redeems our lives, our futures, our marriages, our children, our relationships.... There is nothing that submitted to the Father can not be redeemed.

I have been thinking  a lot lately about loving the way the Father loves.
To often, I want it all to be about me. Born selfish. The curse of the flesh.
I don't even often recognize how selfish I am.
But when I compare my love to the love of the Father, I can see.

He tells us how to love. I am striving to love more like this...

I Corinthians 13

13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
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 its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I'll confess something. It is easy to hurt my feelings. It didn't used to be so easy. But the slings and arrows of life have wounded me some and well, I bruise more easily now. I don't feel as secure and loved as I used to. 

But today, I remembered the times as a child when I felt loved by no one but my parents and family. I felt friendless, except for God. He was there. I remember so clearly thinking that if no one else loved me , He did. It made all the difference. 
And it still does today. 
I remembered that, though others may wound me, may be inconsiderate of me, may not crave time with me as I do with them, may not call me, may not celebrate my special occasions.....I have a lover of my soul that loves me completely. It is enough. It is enough to fill the painful voids left by human companionship and make me feel whole enough to love unconditionally the people in my life that may bruise me.

Love is not easily provoked. Did you know that?
You  probably wouldn't have known that if you had been looking at the attitudes and actions that I have displayed at provocation. I have been easily provoked. But I am working on it. 

I want to be full enough of the Lover of my soul that I have a reservoir that doesn't feel needy.A reservoir that can take criticism without becoming angry. A reservoir that isn't touchy or easily provoked. A reservoir that overflows with His love to the people in my life. 

My son recently criticized me for calling his Biology teacher "he." He said that he had already told me that it was a woman. I didn't really remember or didn't pay attention. But he seemed really irritated. It hurt my feelings. Then, I realized that I didn't want to be so touchy. I want to be loving and kind. I want to be someone that they would want to be around. If I am touchy and easily hurt, they will not want a lot of that. It's childish. 

My daughter frequently ignores me when I am talking to her for a while before she answers or acknowledges that I have spoken. That hurts my feelings. I feel like a cell phone takes precedence. But that is childish, too.It may need correction because it is rude, but it shouldn't hurt my feelings. 

We can't have that kind of love unless we spend a lot of time letting the Lover of our souls fill us with His goodness and love. To overflowing. 

Oh, how I love Him!  

Tomorrow we continue our Revive Our Marriage Series! I can't wait! My marriage is improving!