4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
Love Lifting vs. Weight Lifting
How much can you bench press?
It is valentine’s weekend and couples are scrambling around trying to figure out how to express the love they want to show to each other. I love the concept of a special days and special moments to share with your honey. However, I am more concerned about definition. What is love? As I myself was pondering this question, it dawned on me that there is a whole load of information on what it is ‘not.’ Perhaps this is the best way to weigh yourself as an individual and see where you are "not" on the ‘love’ scale.
I have this image in my head of weight training and getting in shape for a big competition. This is very similar to what I think the Lord is after when he gently chides us to check our love meters.
When you review first Corinthians 13 do you see yourself as a spiritual giant able to slay all the loveless moments in your life, or are you wimpy barely getting the weight bar in the air, hoping earnestly for a spotter to show up and rescue you from this work out?
These scriptures can be startling, kind of like not working out in FOREVER and then having to go train for a marathon that is a week away ;-) – Epic Disaster!
Okay, so I won’t even begin to dissect all of them at once as I may fall into the abyss of my own failings, so just look at a few scriptures (maybe one) and try some again later. ;-)
You can start with your personal Achilles heal…your weak spot on the scale of lifting. We all know the weak areas on our bodies…if I asked you, “Hey what areas physically do you need to get in shape?” Some may say… “I have a weak core” or “My abs” or “biceps” etc… Any way, we all know what we need to fix physically, but rarely do we check our love stats to see what we are weak in.
I know you are thinking it is best if I just focus on my strengths and not worry about areas of weakness…Yeah that may be best for you, but not your spouse…Plus, we just read that love forgets about itself altogether – ouch! Go check the scripture up top I promise it’s right there!
The Fix: Make a workout routine to build up the “Muscle” (Spiritual area in need).
Scale through each of these scriptures and carefully examine if you are out of shape in an area. (I found so many…I was like…What??? Who can do this? With God ALL THINGS are possible!) ;-) Basically, ask yourself, where am I inconsistent?
Pray to God for a regimented plan to help you build strength in a weak area…(Pray: God I need your grace to do this in my life, not for myself, but for my spouse…They need better love and I want to be better at giving them what you desire for them to have….HELP ME!) Then make the plan of how you are going to combat this area of weakness and begin immediately, don't procrastinate. For example, the plan may look as simple as this: If you are constantly insisting on your rights, or imposing your thoughts unto your spouse…then you STOP, try for 28 days to do the opposite. They say if you do something for 14 days it creates a habit so if you do 28 maybe you will break a cycle….who knows…it is worth trying.
The Lesson in all this:
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…I know you are saying “who the heck wants to even eat and elephant?” …You know what I am trying to say. LoL
Don’t try to get in shape in one day…(Valentine’s Day). If you workout everyday, eventually you will get up to your goal bench press weight…Heck you may even exceed it and become the champion of work out people! ;-) (It makes sense to me)
Learning As I Go (Grow)!
Beverly Jenkins
No comments:
Post a Comment