DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: 1 Cor. 13:4-5 – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
How do you want to start off your 2014? Most people look back over the last year and see different things that they want to change; little nuisances in their characters that may have been flawed, caused turmoil in their lives or disrupted relationships. Our passage for today gives us a foundation we can stand on each day to have a better mindset, outlook and focus as we come into our new season. Love is a principle most of us understand but rarely get. We know what emotion can come along with love. We know how we’re supposed to act in love. We even know how to show our affection based on love. However, do we ever take a step back to get the true concept of love? Love is more than a feeling or action. The scripture suggests that love is also a mindset. It is protecting, it is thoughtful, it is encouraging, it is pleasant, and it is forgiving. One of the biggest things is that love is a decision.
Our love for one another shouldn’t be based on our own thoughts or ideas but on the example of Jesus Christ! A reason it is hard for us Christians at times to respond “like a Christian” is because we haven’t committed to the decision of fully being like Christ. We like some areas of our lives to resemble Christ but if it’s an area that we can be hurt in, we want to have the control there. We can’t let people get over on us because it’s our job to make sure we get them before they get us or if they’ve got us, we’ve got to get them back. We’ve got it all wrong, God is our avenger. We don’t have to do anything to anybody but love them. It is the same love that God has shown to us. Someone does us wrong one time (possibly on accident) and we can’t ever talk to that person again. They might as well be dead to us in a sense. Well, how does God treat us? He gives us his love every day and we treat him less than desired EVERYDAY!! We do him wrong every chance we get seemingly but does He react to us as we do to others? He keeps giving us his love even though we treat him, his principles and his love without any regard. We have to get a place where we love like He loves us – not just to Him but to all of His poeple.
This year, let’s learn to do things biblically and let the love of Christ shine through our lives in a way that all men will see as the love of God. We encourage you to be mindful of the way you conduct yourself as a Christian too. You could be the only Jesus that someone could ever come to know. If this is so, let’s make our Lord look attractive so we can lead as many as possible to his grace.
Have a great day and live inspired. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!