Command, not request!
This has been a busy few weeks in my little world. Included has been a deep heart issue: LOVE!
I’m a mom, and there is no more satisfying and challenging position (career) in life (except perhaps fatherhood!) My kids are all adults, but that doesn’t mean I stop being their mom. In fact, it seems as they grow and mature, so does my role as their mom! The hard part is redefining LOVE in accordance with my role as mom to adults!
As believers, we are COMMANDED, not requested, to love one another as Christ loves us. That is quite a tall order! First, we have to accept that Jesus loves us more than words can express, more than any human can possibly apprehend, more than our finite brains can even imagine. That is LIFE! But accepting Jesus love as truth is just the beginning! We are to love one another the same way … even FAMILY … even the absolutely unlovable!
This revelation shook me! It seems like common sense, but … how many of us really treat family with the kind of love Jesus pours into each of us continuously? I tend to try to control my kids’ lives! I confess! I am always right, and of course, I know better then they do what is best for them, right? 🙂 It was a “loving” smack across the face when I realized I was putting MY expectations, MY dreams, and MY plans onto them. THAT isn’t Christ’s love!
Strangers are much easier to love! We don’t have to see them often and deal with their imperfections routinely. Family we do! We are commanded to love one another as Christ loves us … in spite of our bad habits, inherent weaknesses, bad choices, and frailties!
Not so easy … but if we practice appreciating the best in each of our family members, our friends and co-workers, maybe … just maybe they will see Jesus in us!
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