Love Them First
I know I am a slow learner and I have come to realize that I have to be told some things over and over again, especially the hard things. Luckily, God is patient with me! He just gently reminds me that I need to get back to doing what He has told me to do, (numerous times before).
A few days ago I was just praying and listening for the Lord in a few areas and He nudged me and said, "You aren't loving the people."
Ouch! He was right. I may have been loving them a little bit, but I was not loving them the way He calls us to love them. I was loving them based on my feelings, not based on scripture. He reminded me that before I can serve Him in any other way, I have to love them first.
Of course when you want to know what God says about love, you go to His word.
"Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one's achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up."
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 TPT
The words I really needed to pay attention to were "consistently kind", does not "selfishly seek its own", "not easily irritated or quick to take offense".
I need these reminders daily! Especially in my own home. It isn't because I don't love my family, I do, I love them fiercely, but at home is where I get comfortable and let my guard down. At home is where I get lazy and tired. At home is where it is easiest for me to become selfish and seek my own way instead of putting others first. The ones I love most usually get the worst of me and that is just not okay.
So, I have renewed my goal to purposely love others, especially my family. I have been studying scriptures and meditating on certain verses. I have been praying and asking God to remind me and nudge me when I start slipping. I encourage you to do the same.
Take an honest look in your home, are you loving them as God calls us to? Ask God to reveal to you any areas where you might be slipping, but then be ready to work on that area. Meditate on these verses and any others God brings to your mind about loving. Let's get back to the greatest thing, LOVE.
Blessings,
Kim
Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.
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