This past weekend, our family camped with our extended family. Without going into great detail, there were two additions to the group, two young people who've had hard lives, don't know Christ and need His love so desperately. I tried to focus my thoughts in this way going into the trip and I wanted to be God's love to them, but I'm ashamed to admit that there were many times over the weekend I just "felt" annoyed by their neediness and the intrusion.
This is where I want to share how God put into practice Matthew 18: "He called a little child and had (her) stand among them. And he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.....And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
My Maddie is a very sensitive soul - one who listens intently to the Holy Spirit's conviction and responds without fail. On the trip, something happened which she felt bad about and she felt she needed to confess to her Grandpa. Even when I tried to assure her that it was a harmless mistake and Grandpa didn't even know, she insisted she had to tell him she was sorry. As I stood and watched her confess to her grandpa, I felt so pleased with her heart and knew God was pleased with her too. And at the same time I wondered what God thought of my heart and my resentful attitude towards the two young people? But I brushed it aside, telling myself, "They have no clue of my inner thoughts - I've been kind on the outside". Yet, even after coming home, I felt disappointment in myself grow and things I read in my quiet times only confirmed the conviction that I had failed.
From Crazy Love: God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love....But Paul writes that even if "I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor. 13:2-3) Wow! Those are strong and unmistakable words. According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters.
I shared my grief and conviction last night at Bible Study with a couple of women and I was troubled by how they wanted to assure me it was okay and normal to feel resentful, just like I tried to assure Maddie that she was okay.....But I don't want to excuse away my sin, just like I know Maddie didn't want to. I want to listen to His voice when He corrects me so I can be closer to Him and I want the same for my daughter, my friends, my extended family. I rejoice in the conviction!
For the past few months, God has been impressing this message of love on my heart. Does He do that with you too? Continually point you in different ways to the same core point? I see it in every aspect of my life and in every difficult situation I'm in...He is telling me to LOVE. Sometimes when I've shared that, I've felt as if those listening disregard it because it is so basic or they think it is oversimplifying the problem. But isn't God's Love the answer to every situation? Not my earthly love, but His Love given out through me? What would that have looked like this past weekend? What does that mean? I have to keep going back to scripture for understanding....
Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends....
faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13
1 comment:
Love how God teaches us through our children!
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