How's Your Love Life?


How’s your love life? No, I don’t mean your relationship with the opposite sex, but how well you love other people who are put in your path.

In my early thirties I was living in Jackson, Mississippi and was attending First Baptist Church which is a huge mega church. One Sunday the pastor at the time, Earle Craig, was preaching a sermon on loving your neighbor. One statement that he said still rings in my mind. It was, “If you do not love other people, I question your faith.” Wow…what a slap in my face. 

I was a woman of strong faith or so I thought, but when he said that sentence, my life was changed. I began to examine my life and realized that I didn’t always love other people. I was critical and judgmental. I was proud and “holier than thou.” I was selfish and self-centered and cared much more about myself than the needs and concerns of others. Now I could go on, but I think you probably get the picture. 

I did “like” people, but I certainly did not always show them the love of Christ. Especially not in the ways that Jesus did when He was on this earth. He touched the sick and filthy people of His day. He ate with the worst of the sinners. He washed the dirty feet of the disciples. He fed the ones who were hungry. He prayed for those who hurt Him the most. The list could go on and on and as I looked at the exemplary life of our Savior, I realized that my “love life” was lacking. 

So I prayed and asked God to change me. Notice, I said change me, not to change the people around me, so that they would be easier to love. The transformation wasn’t instantaneous, but God did begin to work in my life. Little by little, step by step I did grow to love people for who they were and not what they could do for me. It is very freeing to be able to love and serve and give of myself to others. 

Would you take the litmus test that I was given so many years ago and see how you measure up in the love department? If you fail as I did, will you ask God to change you too and then wait expectantly to see what He will do in your life? 

1 John 4:21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roxy--Our Adopted Best Friend

Image
Roxy was our beloved pet for 14 years. We got her for my daughter Lynn’s sixteenth birthday. Lynn had been begging for a dog and in a weak moment we agreed to her request. We decided that a pound puppy would be a good choice, so off to PetsMart we went, since they brought in a selection of puppies for adoption each weekend. Upon surveying the motley crew of dogs and cats, Lynn and I spotted a couple of cute white dogs with black and brown spots—a brother and sister pair, but we weren’t quite sure if one of them might be “the right one.” So back to the car for the next stop, and off to the humane society we went. Anytime you go to a place like that you hurt for the sad little animals just peering through the cages, longing to be grabbed up into your arms to be loved and cared for and you wish that you could take them all home. After checking out the big dogs, the small dogs, the old and the young, the hairy and even scary dogs, it was determined that none of those was meant to go home...
Read more

Bavarian Cream Pie

Image
2 eggs 1/8 t salt 3/4 c scalded milk 1 c whipping cream 1 T gelatin 1/4 c cold water 1/2 c sugar 1 t vanilla Chocolate crumb crust Beat sugar and egg yolks. Then add milk and scald until it sticks to the spoon, stirring constantly. Let gelatin and cold water soak until dissolved, then add to milk and let cool. Whip cream and egg whites separately and then mix together. Mix cream and egg mixture to the milk that has been cooled. Add vanilla to mixture. When this begins to congeal, pour into chocolate crumb crust. Put into refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Sprinkle crushed crumbs over the top before serving. www.hearthope.org
Read more

Kolaches

Image
Easy Kolaches This recipe is from Judie Byrd who has a cooking school in Fort Worth, TX. It is so easy and good. 1 stick of butter or margarine 2 packages of 10 count flaky biscuits 1 can pie filing (any flavor) Topping: 6 T flour 4 T cold margarine 1/2 c sugar Separate the biscuits in half, according to the flaky layers. Dip each piece in melted butter and place on a cookie sheet. Make an indentation in the middle of each using your thumb. Put about 1 tablespoon of pie filling into the indented space. Make the topping by cutting the flour and sugar into the cold butter. Sprinkle topping over pastries. Cook at 375 degrees about 15 minutes or until good and brown. If you don't have pie filling, you can use jam. www.hearthope.org
Read more