God has blessed us with emotions and they are wonderful when they work to our advantage! Now turn them around and emotions can cause some serious problems for us. We are commanded to love others and to pursue love. Jesus said it, He demonstrated it and He still lives it today. I think some people are just naturally gifted with the ability to love others more quickly than some of us. I am not one of those people, I am very selective about who I love but if you are one of the lucky few, I am passionate about you, I am loyal to you, my love is unconditional and it will endure a lifetime, no matter what!
I find it so easy to love people I like. But it is the people that my “miss congeniality” personality clashes with or those people who have hurt my feelings or those that don’t fit into my ideal little world that I find so difficult to love. Why do I just not automatically love those people that are different than me? Why didn’t God just let me be more naturally loving? Well it has to do with the state of my heart. I have to check my heart to see if it has bitterness, selfishness or fearfulness toward the person God is calling me to love. I am in for a big challenge when my heart has a combination of all three! Selfishness is usually my vice so I hear God’s voice ask me “Are you going to put on love today? Or am I going to have to teach you another lesson, the choice is yours Tammy Ellen!”
What is “putting on love?” Is it a “fake it ‘til you make it kind of attitude? Well, kind of, it is a choice, a choice to think biblical thoughts and motives and turning those into actions. I can say I choose to love others today, but then God gives me the challenging ones! So what are some practical thoughts and actions I can have to learn how to put on love?
Love is Patient – I can choose to be patient whether I feel like it or not, it is an active, humble choice to obey God by being patient
Love is Kind – speaking in a kind tone and doing acts of kindness for others can be done only by the grace of God for me
Love is not jealous – being glad for others will help me to not to be jealous, envious, self-focused and self-concerned. Having a heart of gratitude shows great maturity in obeying the Lord.
Love does not brag – talking conceitedly. Yikes! Talking conceitedly is telling everyone about my excessive appreciation of my own self worth. Just one word for me…HUMBLE
Love is not arrogant – Pride v. Humble, I try to choose humble by serving others, listening and considering other people’s opinions over my own
Love does not act unbecomingly – try consistency, do not act based on my mood, let others depend on me to be self controlled in all situations
Love does not seek its own way – consider others to be more important than myself
Love is not provoked – showing love means having self control in all situations regardless of my circumstances
Love does not take into account a wrong suffered – not replaying the wrongs I have suffered over and over in my mind, not holding onto bitterness and by not bringing up the past will help me obey God’s Word regarding forgiveness.
Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth – encouraging others and supporting others to do Godly deeds
Love bears all things – suffer when doing what is right, this includes times when others are being selfish (and I know they are!)
Love believes all things – believing the best of a person instead of assuming the worst
Love hopes all things – biblical hope is the hope in knowing God is in control
Love endures all things – God brings situations in our life to refine us so look at enduring all things as the process to become more like Christ.
Enjoy putting on love today! Tammy
(Putting on love was adapted from the Excellent Wife by Martha Peace)