What love is...

Now that I am back from my little jaunt up to Nebraska, I am settling back into my routine and getting back on track with reviewing my notes from the Women Discipling Women Conference. While I enjoyed so many of the sessions, I was really convicted by the "I Quit! Loving When It's Hard" session.

Right off the bat, Janie Street said that pretty much there is a double difficulty in loving people biblically... them, but moreover ME! In light of Galatians 5:16-22, I need to evaluate myself and seek to confess and repent of sin that is in my life that is keeping me from loving another person.

Then, I need to know what biblical love looks like if I am going to be able to even begin to strive towards loving people as God does. First, I read 1 Corinthians 13:3-8a, 13 which says,

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 

 Here I need to sit and ask myself some questions... 

Am I patient? (not always)

Am I kind? (not enough)

Am I envious? (sometimes)

Do I boast? (sadly, yes)

Am I arrogant or rude? (can be)

Am I insisting on my own way? (most of the time, especially with my kids)

Irritable? (ugh, this is hard)

Resentful? (do I have to answer?)

Do I rejoice at wrongdoing? (not normally)

Am I rejoicing with the truth? (yes, often)

Do I bear all things? (not nearly as I ought)

Believe all things? (ditto)

Hope all things? (ditto)

Endure? (ugh)

Am I abiding in love? (not in my own strength)

Well, now I do feel like quitting! But then I remember the Gospel. I have to remind myself what Christ has done for me, and that He is not asking me to love like this and not giving me the resources to do it. I certainly can not do it in my own strength, my flesh fights against me at every step. 2 Peter 1:3 reminds me "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence" and this includes loving people like He has demonstrated for us, both by command, in the Scriptures, and by example, in the life of Christ.

I am camping here for awhile. I am going to memorize these passages, both individually and with my children. I am praying that in due time, by the grace of God, I will be able to answer the questions drawn out of the 1 Corinthians passage differently.