More on Love

I Peter 4:8 has continued to stay in my mind, so I have decided to study it more deeply. I Peter is in many ways instructions to the reader on how to live a Godly life. There are many instructions on being Holy, having hope, the relationships between husbands and wifes, etc. In my Bible, the heading for chapter 4 is "Living for God". In chapter 4:7, he says "The end of things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled sot hat you can pray." He follows that with vs 8, then goes on to talk about helping others, offering hospitality and to do everything to God's glory. Verse 8 actually has two parts. The first part says "Above all, love each other deeply". The first two words tell us just how important this is to God. "Above all" would indicate that we are to do this above all things. God shows us this repeatedly in His word. In Colossians 3:12-14 it says "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. In I Corinthians 13 it is said that faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love.
It is clear in God's word that we are to love each other. I would suppose that there are more references to this than to any other in scripture. I think too often, though, we believe that this means that we are to love those we like, those we come in contact with - our families, church members, friends, etc. However, in I Peter 4:8, it says "love each other deeply". Who is "each other"? Everyone. How are we to love? "deeply". The KJ versions says "fervently" which in the Greek means "without ceasing". It means no matter what. The kind of love that is referred to in this passage is "agape" love which is the kind of love God has for us. This is the kind of love that God had for us when He sent His one and only son to die for us. We are to strive to love everyone with this same type of affection. We could go on and on into a deeper discussion of love, for that is difficult enough. But the rest of this message is "for love covers over a multitude of sins". This means that if you have the kind of love that God commands us to have for one another, that we will "keep no record of wrongs", or "will hardly even notice when others do us wrong." It means that we will forgive, just as God forgive us - this is referenced in the above scripture from Collosians. Romans 5:8 says "God demonstrates His love for us in this. While we were still sinners, He died for us." He knew we were sinners, and sent His own son anyway! My, what a mighty God we serve? Can we have this kind of love one for another? Can we actually forgive in this way? Can a multitude of sins actually be covered over? Only with Love, and only with Love through God.

Love each other deeply

"Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins" I Peter 4:8
When Joey and I married, we had this is the scripture printed on bookmarks to give out at our wedding. I guess it was somewhat prophetic because I never dreamed how true the scripture would be in our lives. At the beginning of our marriage, I didn't have a very close relationship with God. We went to church and I was certainly a believer, but I had not come to rely on Him as my personal savior. Therefore, when things didn't go my way in our marriage I didn't have the kind of love that could "cover over a multitude of sins". When I later learned that the love I needed most was the love that comes from God, and that if I would love God first with all my heart, mind and spirit - He would place in me a heart that could love whomever and in whatever circumstances.
I have often told people that I know that God was filling my heart with the kind of love I needed to continue to love Joey because it is only through Him that I could have loved him through some of the things that he did. My friends didn't. My family didn't. I have also realized that as hard as it was to endure the things I did, that it was harder for those who loved me to watch me go through them. Some months after Joey and I remarried, I received a call one day from a dear friend. Her husband was also a close friend and was a respected physician in our town. My phone rang while I was at the baseball fields with my son. When I saw that it was my friend, I almost didn't answer it - thinking I would just call her back when the game was over. For some reason, something told me that I needed to answer this call. I know now that the Holy Spirit knew and guided me in this way. As soon as I answered it, I knew that something was wrong. She confided in me that she had just dropped her husband off at drug rehab. I could have fallen over with the push of a feather because I had no idea. He was dealing with an addiction to prescription pain killers and was seeking treatment in a facility that specialized in physicians out of town. I was heartbroken for her. I could hear the pain in her voice. I could hear all the different emotions that I had experienced - hurt, confusion, anger, embarrassment - just to name a few. She also was very concerned for her children, and I knew all too well what that meant. The insecurity of now knowing how the future is going to play out - if you will have to do it alone, etc. I knew then that one of the reasons I had to go through what I did that day was because one day I would be called upon to take this call. I was the only person she knew and trusted that she could share this with and would know how she felt. Over the months that he was away, we talked often. I pray that I was able to offer her some source of comfort and strength during this time.
As I said earlier, I have often commented that I couldn't understand how I continued to love Joey. Don't get me wrong - I hated the things that he did - but I somehow was able to maintain a love for him through it all. It never occurred to me until this morning that the verse I chose when we married was the promise God made to me. "Above all love each other deeply, for love covers over a multitude of sins." He says it right there. If we love with God at the center, He will fill our hearts with a love that truly covers over a multitude of sins.

Love

When I fell in love with my husband, I was certain that God had brought us together. He was nothing like anyone I had ever dated - or wanted to date for that matter. But, from the very start, I felt a very strong feeling like this was the person I was going to marry. I loved him with all my heart, and he was quick to tell me he loved me too. In fact, the very first night we went out. It wasn't really a date, but we met at the movies. When we left, he chased me down I-55 and flagged me down because he didn't know where I lived and didn't have my phone number. I thought anyone who would do something like that, must be pretty special.
It didn't take too long after our wedding for me to realize just how "special" this relationship was going to be. There were days that I couldn't believe I was living the way that I was. In looking back over our hardships, though, the thing that always amazes me is that I continued to love him. Now, this was not the sappy, wimpy, "stand by your man" kind of love - because there were many days I just wanted to knock his block off. This was a deep, abiding kind of love. I can't explain it in my human-ness, because it is only through God that I believe we can love someone we don't even like.
Once again, scripture was used to bring this home to me. It is evident how highly God thinks of love as it is the common thread throughout the entire Bible. One that popped out at me is in I John where the scripture says "Love one another, for love is of God." As best I can tell, "one another" means everyone - not just those we like. The second part of this really hit home - "love is of God". The NIV says "love comes from God". If we are depending on anyone else to make us feel loved, we will always be disappointed! Loves comes from God! How much did God love us? Enough to send His only son to die for us. Did we do something to deserve this love? NO! This hit me like a ton of bricks. All my life, I had looked to things on this earth to make me feel loved - my family, my things, my church, my job, etc. Are these things important? Sure. Are they part of what makes us who we are? Of course. Will they every fulfill our lives the way that God can? NEVER. I realized that I needed to focus on my relationship with God - to realize that He is the source of my love, and to strive to love others as He first loved me. The other passage that added to my basis for love, is the scripture known as the Love Chapter - I Corinthians 13. In this passage, God tells us how important love is, but he also tells us WHAT love is. These are not easy to live by, but God says this is the way we are to love. He says love is: patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs (one translation says "hardly even notices when others do it wrong"), does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres. Love never fails. Boy! is that a hard set of standards, and remember this isn't just for those we like - it is everyone!!!! Some of those things are particularly hard for me - kind. Now this sounds easy, but did you know you have to be kind to your children? Even when they are not kind to you? More on this later...

More on lamps

I was sharing my recent thoughts on the scripture "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" with a friend and co-worker. He pointed out a couple of things that I found particularly interesting. One is that the scripture says a "lamp unto my feet", meaning that God does not always enlighten us too far into the future. His Word gives us what we need for right now - just enough light to take the next step. Perhaps this is because if we can see too far, we begin to feel that we don't need God afterall. The other thing, that sort of goes along with this is that back in Bible times, there were actually very small oil lanterns that somehow fit onto the sandals worn by people then. Isn't that cool???
I am so thankful that I can't see the whole picture, Lord. It reminds me of the country song made popular by Garth Brooks called "The Dance".
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance

Today I was sitting at a co-workers desk, filling in while she went to the doctor. I noticed a small frame with the scripture "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Although I know those words by heart, they struck me today. The Word of God really is a light and a path when we have lost our way. It is our modern day GPS. I hate to get lost. I always have. As a child, I was always afraid of being lost. As an adult, it just frustrates me because it makes me lose time. I am always so relieved to finally see something familiar and know that I am heading back the right way. Isn't life like that? When we lose our way - when we forget who is really in control it can be frustrating and even fearful. When I lose my way in life today, it is usually because I have taken on too much responsibility and therefore have done nothing well. I've stopped letting God run my life and have tried once again to find my way in the dark - alone. When I seek Him and His perfect guidance, the light He provides never fails me - NEVER! How much easier it would be if I began every day by saying "Lord, let me look always to you and to your word for the light that I need to find my way." In looking back over the darkest points in my life, particularly those toughest times in my marriage, God used any number of ways to bring me back to His Holy Word. It was always those times when I felt most comforted, and felt the most peace. Thank you God for your Word, or our own personal GPS!