Love Ain't Easy, but God Never Fails

Have you ever had one of those times when you thought you were doing something right, but then the backlash makes you wonder why you bothered in the first place? I won't get into details, but I've had that happen more than once and each time I find myself swallowing my pride or taking one for the team or any number of other cliches.  It seems to be hardest when family is involved.  I find myself asking the question "Do my personal views need to be glorified or do I need to make sure that God is glorified?"  The answer to that is easy when looking from the outside-in, but in the midst of a situation, the lines in between the two can be easily blurred.

Today I am especially reminded of the verses on which I have based this blog.  "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ( Corinthians 3:4-8).  Wow...that's hard stuff.  Personally, I have read that verse a hundred times and while I know what it says, it wasn't until recently that I began to internalize the importance of these verses.  What is the greatest commandment from God? "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27).  The greatest commandment is to love and through 1 Corinthians 3:4-8 we know what love looks like.  Are we doing it?

I encourage you to try this little exercise:  rewrite 1 Corinthians 3:4-8, but insert your name in place of the word 'love' or pronouns referring to love and read it out loud.  Here's how mine reads:

"Kevin is patient, Kevin is kind. Kevin does not envy, Kevin does boast, Kevin is not proud.  Kevin does not dishonor others.  Kevin is not self-seeking, Kevin is not easily angered and Kevin keeps no record of wrongs.  Kevin does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  Kevin always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Kevin never fails."

This is humbling as I reflect on the fact that I am generally a good person. But if the greatest commandment is to love, and I insert my name and can then clearly see that I fall short of reflecting what love is, then I have got some work to do.  It is a daunting task to look at love and look at our shortcomings and seek to try to correct the situation.  For me - I get three words into that verse and fall apart...I am not a patient person.  Personal evaluation and reflection is overwhelming at times, but what gives me hope is knowing that I can rely on God's attributes and not my own.  Now let's rewrite that verse and insert God's name and I will show you what I mean:

"God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does boast, God is not proud.  God does not dishonor others.  God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered and God keeps no record of wrongs.  God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  God never fails."

While I fall apart on the first three words,  I am comforted that I can lean on God right to the final three words where I am reminded that "GOD NEVER FAILS."  So while I am easily angered, God is not.  While I may keep a mental list of the wrongs others commit against me, God does not remember mine.  While I may fail miserably in every aspect of my life, I can count on Him because God never fails.

Love isn't easy - I don't find anywhere in the Bible where God says anything will be easy (a result of the fall?) but He's there to help us.  The Holy Spirit that indwells us gives us the strength to do the difficult even when we don't think we need the help.