Am I? Are You?

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 - Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  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.

I once read (and wrote) about this passage after reading about an exercise in better understanding God's true nature.  The exercise suggested substituting "God" for the word "love" in this passage.  And it was a good exercise too.

Most recently, I have been reading a book for a second time that I had previously read a couple of years ago.  In his fantastic book, Crazy Love, Pastor Francis Chan offers a suggestion about a different kind of exercise when looking at this passage.  He suggests substituting your own name for the word "love" in this passage.  It was not meant to suggest that we should think of ourselves as equal to God, but to test to see if we are really loving people well.  The way God wants us to.

In the book, Chan says, "God assesses our lives based on how we love" (Ch. 5, pg. 94).  After describing this exercise, he points out, "By the end, don't you feel like a liar?  If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well."  Chan refers to this exercise as "Profoundly convicting," and boy is that the understatement of a lifetime.

When I started doing this exercise, I didn't make it past the first one before I knew that I fell far short of God's standard (patience is not my strong suit).  Now don't get me wrong, I am not trying to elevate myself to a position of equality with God.  That would be a ridiculous thing to say or try to do.  But as Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5, "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."  That attitude was bore out of His love for His people.

Do I have that attitude?  As Chan tells us, "It [love] is not a label we can display when it is useful.  It must be central to everything we do and are."

Is it?

Abba Father, forgive me.  Forgive me for not loving You and Your people well.  Forgive me for falling short of Your standard of love.  I ask You to give me the attitude of Christ Jesus, so that I may love everyone well.  I know I can never measure up completely.  But through Your strength and grace, I will continue, as Paul said, to press on to reach the end of the race and receive the Heavenly prize for which You, through Your Son Jesus Christ, are calling me (Philippians 3:14).  I pray for those that haven't been loving the way You have commanded and demonstrated for us to do.  My prayer is that they will see that is all You want from us.  That the two commands Jesus gave us, to love You and love others, are what it is all about.  Thank You for allowing us to keep striving every day.  In Jesus' name, Amen!



God Bless!!!