1 Corinthians 16:13-14: “Be on your guard; stand
firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love."
Psalm 143:8: “Let the morning bring me word of
your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should
go, for to you I entrust my life."
In the Corinthians passage I hear Paul telling me to “do
everything in love.” And today, I am aware of so many times when the things I
do are not “in love.” And my natural
tendency is to beat myself up for that.
But over the last week or so, I have been reminded that when my actions
don’t come out of love, it is usually because I am not “in love”; that is, I am
not feeling loved. When I don’t feel
loved, I am more defensive, jealous, anger-prone, judgmental, and take things
more personally than I should (among other not-so-good things). I’m not proud of that; it’s just the way I
am.
But I’ve noticed something else about myself. There are things I can do to reliably be “in
love.” The Psalm above speaks to this.
If I will spend some time in the morning reading scripture, connecting
with God’s presence (prayer, meditation, etc) and focusing on gratitude, I am
much more likely to live my day out in love.
I’ve known this for a long time, but way too often I still don’t do
it. That is why I so enjoy these
meditations every day whether you all read them or not. They are helping me stay on track, to stay
“in love.” They are the way I “let the
morning bring me word of [God’s] unfailing love” for me.
Don’t misunderstand me. This is not to say that you should
do what I do. I try to do what I’ve
described here because it does the trick for me. You have figure out what works for you. I am saying you should do that. As you do, know that I love you all like crazy.
Questions: What helps you be “in love?” Are there practices
that help you feel loved and affirmed for who you are?
Prayer: Your love for
us God is new and available every morning.
Help us feel connected to that love more of the time than we do now.
Prayer focus: Pray
for people who grew up not being reminded that they are loved every day.
Song: Reckless Love – Cory Asbury
No comments:
Post a Comment