Audits & Resolutions - Day 18

Write From My Heart / December 18, 2020 / Audits & Resolutions – Day 18

Question: Do I love others or merely tolerate them?

John 13:34-35 (NLT) So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT) Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

            Just because I enjoy writing devotionals doesn’t mean I have my act together or that somehow I’ve got it all under control. It also doesn’t mean the depth of my spiritual life is any better than yours or anyone else’s. Quite honestly, most of what I write is also something I need to read myself—and today is no exception. Frankly, right now I have a lot more “toleration” for my state political leaders than “love,” and not much toleration left at that. I see the hurt, pain, closing of businesses, and it’s really difficult to be hopeful, curb my irritation, and to do my best to not give up. (This is just a result of circumstances in our state, and no reflection intended upon yours.)

            The reality is that none of this matters when it comes to my responsibility to love one another. I am supposed to love others (not what they do) in the same way Christ loves me. Wouldn’t I be in sad shape if Christ merely tolerated me? There would be no hope for me if Christ forgave me but still kept a record of my wrongs. As the time-worn saying goes, “If love is the proof that I am a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?” Friends, I am struggling with this one, but I assure you I am working on it. Slowly I am understanding that while I can disagree—even despise—decisions made by state political leaders, I can still love them with hope and prayers for their salvation in the same way I can offer prayers of thanksgiving for my salvation. Christ loved me when I was the unlovable one—how could I possibly do anything less for anyone else?

Resolution: Love others because Christ loves me.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

            You reached out to me in love and mercy, and by your grace I am saved. Teach me to love others in a way that leads me to pray for their salvation.

            In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, Amen.