Devotional for February 13th.
Love Assumes the Best
"Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." -1 Corinthians 13:7
Love has no limits. Love never says, "You've gone too far. I can't love you now." "All thing" means everything is included. Christlike love leaves no doubt in the mind of another that you will continue to love steadfastly. Do those close to you know that they can fail and do foolish things, yet you will not falter in your love for them? Are others assured that, even when they hurt you, you still love them, holding nothing against them?
Love assumes the best about others. If someone inadvertently offends you, you choose to believe the offense was unintentional. If someone seeks to harm you, "bear all things," forgiving unconditionally. If a positive light can be shed on a difficult encounter, you grasp it. If someone continually provokes you, you "endure all things." You never lose hope in the ones you love. You practice the same unconditional love toward others that Christ gives you.
Paul said that he was nothing if he had the faith to move mountains, the tongue of an angel, and the gift of prophecy to understand all mysteries, yet did not have God's love. It is unacceptable to say, "Well, I just can't love people that way!" When God loves people through you, this is the only kind of love He has! Read 1 Corinthians 13 with gratitude that God has already expressed this complete ad selfless love to you. Pray and ask Him to express it through you now, to others.
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God sure does listen and pay close attention to our lives, and this entry is proof for me. More than anything today, I needed to read these words and I know in my heart that he meant this specifically to encourage me. You may say that no matter what I would have read this, whether I needed it or not but I don't believe in coincidence. On a day when I needed more than anything to read these words they were there, every single one speaking to my heart.
I've had a lot of doubt lately and I've really been struggling to love some people in my life, people who repeatedly hurt me both unintentionally and intentionally. I truly needed to be reminded today that true love is not conditional.
The people in my life, more specifically the men, have done and said some truly awful and terrible things to me, some of them repeatedly and seemingly without provocation and without care. I've always been one to forgive quickly, even when I didn't want to. Not saying that I forget, because I don't think we ever honestly forget the wrongs done to us, at least our hearts don't I think they always carry the scars, but in any case I'm very quick to move on once an apology has been made. Lately I've felt that that makes me weak, I've even felt walked on because some of the people who are hurting me continue to do so no matter how often I forgive them. I've really felt like I'm only enabling them to continue hurting me and I really needed to see these specific words on this specific page today to remind me that it's just the way a Christian should live their life, and Cyndy if you're reading this, I think you needed these words too. Jesus was spat on and tortured and still he stayed, still he took the abuse and not only forgave his tormentors, but prayed for them. So I choose to do that now with encouragement from this devotional and I know there are many out there who can do the same, I hope this speaks to your hearts the way it's spoken to mine.
Love Assumes the Best
"Love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." -1 Corinthians 13:7
Love has no limits. Love never says, "You've gone too far. I can't love you now." "All thing" means everything is included. Christlike love leaves no doubt in the mind of another that you will continue to love steadfastly. Do those close to you know that they can fail and do foolish things, yet you will not falter in your love for them? Are others assured that, even when they hurt you, you still love them, holding nothing against them?
Love assumes the best about others. If someone inadvertently offends you, you choose to believe the offense was unintentional. If someone seeks to harm you, "bear all things," forgiving unconditionally. If a positive light can be shed on a difficult encounter, you grasp it. If someone continually provokes you, you "endure all things." You never lose hope in the ones you love. You practice the same unconditional love toward others that Christ gives you.
Paul said that he was nothing if he had the faith to move mountains, the tongue of an angel, and the gift of prophecy to understand all mysteries, yet did not have God's love. It is unacceptable to say, "Well, I just can't love people that way!" When God loves people through you, this is the only kind of love He has! Read 1 Corinthians 13 with gratitude that God has already expressed this complete ad selfless love to you. Pray and ask Him to express it through you now, to others.
******************************************
God sure does listen and pay close attention to our lives, and this entry is proof for me. More than anything today, I needed to read these words and I know in my heart that he meant this specifically to encourage me. You may say that no matter what I would have read this, whether I needed it or not but I don't believe in coincidence. On a day when I needed more than anything to read these words they were there, every single one speaking to my heart.
I've had a lot of doubt lately and I've really been struggling to love some people in my life, people who repeatedly hurt me both unintentionally and intentionally. I truly needed to be reminded today that true love is not conditional.
The people in my life, more specifically the men, have done and said some truly awful and terrible things to me, some of them repeatedly and seemingly without provocation and without care. I've always been one to forgive quickly, even when I didn't want to. Not saying that I forget, because I don't think we ever honestly forget the wrongs done to us, at least our hearts don't I think they always carry the scars, but in any case I'm very quick to move on once an apology has been made. Lately I've felt that that makes me weak, I've even felt walked on because some of the people who are hurting me continue to do so no matter how often I forgive them. I've really felt like I'm only enabling them to continue hurting me and I really needed to see these specific words on this specific page today to remind me that it's just the way a Christian should live their life, and Cyndy if you're reading this, I think you needed these words too. Jesus was spat on and tortured and still he stayed, still he took the abuse and not only forgave his tormentors, but prayed for them. So I choose to do that now with encouragement from this devotional and I know there are many out there who can do the same, I hope this speaks to your hearts the way it's spoken to mine.
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