1Corinthians 13:4-8a - Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
We are continuing to be apprised of situations of the family from our church who were in a terrible accident on their way to church on Sunday. Three died, four are hospitalized.
I could not stop thinking and praying for them yesterday. My mind was consumed and I didn't even know them. On a church blog set up for us, the brother of the man who died poured out his heart. He is heartbroken beyond words. He asks God why and at the same time he knows that God has a purpose and he is trusting in Him. But he is also pleading for strength to carry on and to remove the tears that will not stop.
His brother said he lived for the Lord. His whole life was about doing God's will and seeking Him for the answer to everything concerning himself and his family. He "unabashedly" loved his wife. That phrase continues to ring in my head. That is the love that God tells us we must have as shown the scripture above. Can we all say we unabashedly love ... ?
I'm sure he was not perfect, but the way he lived his life, I think a lot of people would say he was. I have been inundated with scriptures from 1 Corinthians lately. It's something I've known for some time, but am finally beginning to realize. It's all about love. It's all about selflessness, not selfishness. It's about giving like God gave and living, as well as giving, like Jesus.
If one has grown up without a clear, unselfish love of our earthly father, it can be hard to understand the Father's love. It can be confusing if that love has not been learned from the start. And when one finds out about it later in life, it's harder, without the help of our Father. It's just hard. Change can be difficult. And when change does occur, those around us might not quite understand what's happening. But if we persevere.....
I for one don't want to treat one person any differently than another. Why treat a friend or stranger with more love and respect than your own spouse? I'm not saying I do this! Granted, we get comfortable with a spouse, but that shouldn't mean we respect them any less or treat them with any less love.
I can imagine how this one man's loss by so many family members would affect them all. The pain right now seems to be greater than the joy. But I thank God slowly that pain will go away, healing will occur, and remembering how this man lived his life for God will bring peace and joy back into these lives. It may even cause some people, like me, to look more closely at their own lives and reevaluate and rethink how things can and should be changed.
His death may bring about more changes than he or the family will ever know. I praise God for that. I praise God for the wisdom He can impart through this crisis--for those who recognize it. And I thank God for the opportunity He has given me recently to make the decision to get back into His word, to sit at His feet, to learn who He is, to hear Him speak to me, to have Him begin to make changes in my life, to give me His wisdom. I can see how God as begun to instrument changes in me, in my thoughts. There are things He has shown me and pulled together things that once seemed like a lot of loose ends. It's all about gaining His wisdom. And from that wisdom, love will pour forth, lives will change. And it's all about what He's done...nothing I can do on my own, other than to sit at His feet and listen.
But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? The LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding... Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Job 28:12, Proverbs 2:6, Romans 11:33, Hebrews 4:12
Heavenly Father, show us how to be men and women of God. Show us Your heart and help us to see through Your eyes. We thank You that you continue to draw us near to You so that we might learn, through the wisdom of Your words, how to love as You love. I ask that you guide us. Work in our hearts and minds to understand what Your love is all about. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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