Valentine's Day: What I am for others is a reflection of Who Jesus is for me...

My thoughts on Valentines Day...it has past, and I loved my kids, loved my husband, showered them with some gifts and kisses and hugs too.  But, this one day is just a reminder of deeper realities.  If we are in Christ, there is so much tied into the reasons we love.  I have been focusing on 1Corinthians 13:4-7 the past 2 weeks, appropriate for this time of year!  It also is interesting to me the placement of Valentines day on the calendar...right at the beginning of the year.  Maybe our love accounts were running low by the end of year and now need a boost since we've had a month or so to regroup from the holidays?  I am reminded of the importance of our roles as believers.  I'm going to speak as a mom and wife here, but please apply this to your position, too.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says this, "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."

Take a look at the last phrase...bears, believes, hopes, endures all things.  I love the order of these.  "Bears" and "Endures" book-end the middle "believe" and "hope."  The belief and hope here refer, I think, to our relationships with others.  We are called to believe the best in others and hope that the best happens for them.  Remember earlier, the passage says, "It (love) does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing..." We take the role of developer in others lives--our children, our spouse, our friends, coworkers we interact with or lead, those exposed to us on a regular basis.  The tough part about believing and hoping for the best in/for others is that they are broken people, we are broken people too.  When we believe the best in others, they WILL 100% guaranteed let us down, we will let them down.  When we hope for the best, our hopes are bound to be shattered, either due to a foolish choice affecting you or just rotten circumstances with natural consequences. But, as believers in Christ, we don't stop there.  Read on.

Now for the book-ends: Bears and Endures. These two things inform us that in believing the best and hoping the best for others, there will be difficulties.  Why else would we need to be told that love bears all things and endures all things?  Love is hard when done right--when we are not seeking our own gain, when we are patient, when we are kind.  But true love endures and bears the disappointments that are inevitable in every human relationship.  Here is our opportunity to be an example of a perfect model of Love.  If we follow Christ, we follow him in our relationships too.  Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." By imitating Christ in our relationships, showing love, we are called to also imitate Christ in bearing and enduring in love with others.  But be encouraged, Christ bore all things and endured all things for us.  John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  Christ bore all punishment for our failures and he endured all suffering on our behalf. He bridged a gap, a huge divide between us and God, making us friends of God who believe in him and place our hopes in him.  Our belief and hope in HIM will never disappoint, never fail.

Look at a great connection from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to Romans 5:1-5 says, "...we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."  I see endurance and hope mentioned in both passages!  In Romans, we see that our sufferings (maybe from dealing with the disappointments of others or our process of bearing all things in love...) produce the endurance we need to keep loving others!  By hoping the best for others, God is actually cultivating in us a deep hope in HIS love.  He shows us that HIS hope will never disappoint!  Even if the people we love, believe the best for, hope the best for NEVER change or return the love, we are sure of a God that has through these difficulties produced such character in us and given us such a hope that will never be shattered.  Our ultimate hope will forever be stable because it is rooted in Him and His unchangeable love for us.  Romans 8:18 & 28 say, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us...And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  You see, I believe that what I am for others is a reflection of Who He is for me.  This is our vehicle for love, our motivation...in Christ.

So, love others. Love them well.  Love them regardless of their return. Love bears and endures through all the hard things that go along with believing and hoping the best.  We imitate Christ well when we love.

Happy Valentines Day, everyday.

Ginger Vassar

Posted via email from Ginger Vassar