There is Love Again

Scripture: Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. Ephesians 5:1-2

Observation: Paul's letter to Ephesus is full of generic instruction, addressing broad topics of proper behavior instead of discussing a specific, known issue. As he begins to wrap things up, his summary begins this way ... walk in love, as Christ did, imitating the Lord. Because the Lord loves us all, so much so that he offered Jesus as a sacrificial and fragrant offering, we are to exude love toward others.

Application: I know this to be hard, cold fact ... my lack of love for others - the overall way I act toward others with little or no love at all - is the great failing I will be held accountable for before the Lord. Yes, I commit sins and violate the Lord's instructions and precepts in my life, but the way I act with cold indifference and even occasional malice toward others will be the primary accusation that Jesus will have to shield me from. If it is true that we receive rewards for our works, this is the attitude that will minimize my reward the most. Every day, I am given opportunities to act toward others with love and kindness and gentleness, and I generally choose the opposite.

The most difficult part of this knowledge is that I am not really sure where my un-love toward others comes from. Sure, I've been betrayed and hurt by others, but so has everyone. I was once kind and meek and gentle. I once cared about people I barely knew with my heart breaking for their losses and challenges. However, I cast that mindset aside along the way, and instead adopted a hardness that sees strangers as problems, associates as inconveniences, and broken people as jerks. It is a mindset that harms me much more than it harms anyone else.

I fail to walk in love. That hurts me - not others - every day, and it will hurt me even worse in the long run.

Prayer: Lord, please soften my heart. I would life to show your love, the love of Jesus, toward others more and more, every hour of every day. I would like to operate from a position of kindness and gentleness, rather than hard and focused toughness. I do think I am better than I was a few years ago, but I am nowhere near the proper attitude and aspect of a disciple of Jesus. Jesus, I am your disciple, so please teach me in this matter. Amen.