Take The Love Challenge
A few years ago, I had a disagreement with a friend over a minor issue. Turns out it was a very big deal to this person and that situation caused a wedge between us. A couple family members have encouraged me to keep on loving, keep on forgiving, and be patient. But that was hard. I felt like I was right. My husband told me to walk humbly and keep trying to make amends whenever an opportunity would arise. About a month ago, I was able to invite this friend over to my house. I was so nervous! I bought flowers and prepared some yummy food. We talked. We laughed. We reconciled. That moment was years in the making. Choosing to walk in love and not allow bitterness to seep in allowed a friendship to be reborn.
The most popular chapter about LOVE in the bible is found in 1 Corinthians 13. This chunk of scripture has been life changing for me. I have read it aloud many times to be sure that my ears hear my voice speaking God’s words. In reality, we all have people in our lives that can be challenging to love. Not every day do we get to have huge reconciliation conversations, but daily we can act with love. I felt challenged by God to love at a new level according to how HE defines love:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love does not delight with injustice but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
What if we all took 1 Corinthians 13 as a challenge for how we are to act out love? This week I made it a point to take each sentence and positively work toward loving others. Here are a couple examples:
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Love is patient: I was patient with the car in front of me when they drove super slow and made me miss the green light. I resisted the urge to honk my horn and instead smiled and waved.
Love is not jealous: I intentionally complimented two women who had the most gorgeous manicures even though I didn’t get to visit the salon before they closed!
Love is not rude or irritable: I asked my daughters to forgive me when I spoke rudely to them this morning.
Love rejoices with the truth: I took extra time to text a friend encouragement after I saw her posts speaking out for a social issue.
Love always protects: While applying sunscreen on my kids I told them how strong and capable and smart they are.
Love always perseveres: I persevered with love by sending another email reference out for a friend trying to get a new job.
I know we are all operating with love and can encourage each other by sharing. Do you have a story of how you walked in love this week from one of these ways? Let us know so we can rejoice together!