Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wrong. 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.
Everything love isn't, she is.
So am I. I don't want to admit this, but it is true. I'm hard to love too. We all are on some days.
Love her more.
Some days I'm not sure how. I'm empty. Every last drop has been squeezed out and she's still demanding and I'm not sure how to love her more.
Here's the thing: Loving her is not about me. It's not something I can do from my own strength. It comes from Jesus. He loves naturally. I'm trying to be more like Him. Love still isn't my natural inclination. There are too many days when I'm not sure how to love her more. I reread the love chapter. 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 --
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak Gods' Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned a martyr, but don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.It's about loving more through Him. The closer I am to Jesus, the more I worship and pray and read scripture, then the more He lives in me. By loving Him more, I love her more.
This is the secret of how to love her more -- love through Him.
Reading this after being yelled at by my "love him more" guy for an hour last night after the power in our neighborhood went out last night. So, so, so true. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI actually needed to hear this today. Teenagers can be a challenge, but I needed to hear that it's always best to react and treat that challenge with love. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteI needed to hear this badly. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou short sentences stun me into reality. "So am I" statement made me smile as I often M looking at the situation rather than myself. I am thankful The Lord continues to love us more too. MHG
ReplyDeleteSuch truth surrounds your piece, Ruth. I feel like this with my toddler; I hate myself for it...but I do. I wonder if it's age, or temperament, or how it's all just going to be...and I cringe.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got to the bottom scripture, I immediately started singing 'The Proof of Your Love' by For King & Country :).
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