The clock ticks

There are not many hours left.

Another milestone in the life of our family completes at midnight as my daughter turns 18 years old.

I know that I am not alone in feeling excitement for my daughter as she will graduate as a young adult and begin her own walk of life but honestly over the last week I have become sad and anxious. The precious cargo that I have spent years protecting now will begin to take steps and make decisions by her desire to earn more independence. She will move in her direction with or without my input and she will begin to learn the full responsibility for mistakes that will be made.

So after the clock ticks past midnight I hope…

Fruits of the Spirit

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

The season is upon us.

Christmastime.

The stress of buying all those gifts. The anxiety of families coming together and maybe the sadness of memories past. Most likely, our emotions will ebb and flow during the month of December and by the time the 25th comes around we are ready to wrap up all the decorations and the tree like a gift not to be opened again for another year.

But what if we approach the season glorifying the Lord by growing in the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

Love the people God gave you

Did you know the word ‘love’ appears in the King James version of the Bible 310 times¹? It maybe just a number but the act of love is more than a number and carries with it way more significance than how many times it can be counted or shared. It is the air in our lungs. The food for our soul. A reason we exist. The reason we are offered salvation from our sins.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

God extended the greatest act of love when He allowed his son to die for us. Through his death and resurrection, we are granted salvation and eternity for those that believe in him. We are, and were, sinners but Jesus came and loved us anyway. He extended his love to those that were hurting. To those that had made mistakes. To those that resisted loving him back.

So why don’t we love each other the same way Jesus did?

For me, it is easy to love one another if everything is going the way we want it to go. Actions toward each other are respectful and carry with them some fun and laughs and heartfelt times. But then out of nowhere hurt happens. We are wounded by hurt or betrayal and we draw back. The conduit in which we allowed ourselves to share love is shut. Our vulnerability has been jeopardized.

It is in these times that we need to draw closer to Jesus. To His works while on this earth and to His examples of grace. God has given us the people in our life and it could be very possible that they were given to us to be loved. Given to us possibly so that we can ‘learn’ to love.

Did you ever consider that maybe someone that is in your life is there because God knew you could love them even through their worse mistakes? (tweet this!) That you would persevere and not give up on them and walk with them until it is time to go home.

If we believe in God’s will in our life and that He will make everything work for the good we also must accept that when we don’t want to show love to another that has hurt us it maybe God’s intent for us to not run away but walk through these times. To learn to love like Jesus did and to realize that with forgiveness we are rewarded with peace and contentment and in turn, we give a blessing to those that have made mistakes.

Our time here on earth is so short and we never know when we will be called back home. God is going to need us back one day but while we are here He needs us to love who He gave us during our stay.

¹christianbiblereference.org

Love

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

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. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhoodbehind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Love Her Through Me

Frustration is birthed out of unmet expectations. Isn’t that so true? I often think of that statement when I am frustrated over something and I try to be real with myself to understand if my feelings are truly being driven by what I want. James 4:1 says, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you”? Did my selfishness get in the way? Am I thinking of the others involved or supporting the outcome of a situation even if I gain nothing?

Unfailing Love

Dennie Suman 1946 – 2014

This last week has been quite the roller coaster ride from the death of my father to beginning the process to become a pastor.  In all of it, I can’t help but see God ever so present. Death hurts and the sting of the pain may never dissipate. This numb feeling that tugs at your heart for that loved one may linger for a lifetime reminding us of the void that exists and of the times that we shared.

The Look of Love

Something happened this week that changed our household. We got a puppy. Not just any puppy. One named Duke that in a short time stole our hearts; all 3 pounds of him. We have had dogs before but this time something resonated with me more because maybe I am at a different place spiritually since I last owned a canine friend. Even in a short time, I believe that he has changed the spirit in our home and he has touched hearts. He doesn’t know what he is doing but with each wag of his tail and with each lick on our face he radiates unconditional love. The same unconditional love that our Heavenly Father extends to us. The same love that is there for us no matter what our sin has been or no matter if we fail.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. – 1 John 4:16