LOVE

I know that most people are expecting this to be one of those gooey, mushy kind of posts but if you know anything about me you know that I'm not that kind of a girl (most of the time)....hehe

This has been a month of learning what it means to love. Not to love people or things or circumstances and situations but to just love. The bible says that God is love. I often ponder on that and over the years I have come to the conclusion that who else would best describe the word in persona and His very existence? He shows it best, he knows it best, because he is it.

As usual I'm going to quote scripture and diverge and probably say a myriad of words but hang in there and stay focussed I do have a point. Corinthians 13 says that love is patient, kind, long suffering....etc. I read it often and wonder "...mmmmhhh...this is so not me! And can never be!"....but, wait a minute.......

I've been spending a great deal of time with different kinds of people. I love people. I find them so interesting and I marvel at how different we all are. Yes, this information has a reason to be in this post. I recently spent time with someone who I think is selfish. I’m not being judgemental or anything...just hear me out. When I got home I thought to myself "wah, how can someone be so selfish?" then the Holy Spirit told me "you think you're not?!" I could almost hear him laughing....hehe....going back over the events of the time spent with this person I saw the me I used to be and still struggle with at times....selfish.

This is the part I open up to you and tell you of the girl I used to be. I’d only socialize with people for what I could gain. It never occurred to me that these people could be looking for real friendships in me. I wanted to know if they could be my friend and no other way around. In relationships, I’d never put in my end...as in I’d always be on the receiving side and never the giving one...the other party always felt short changed. Truth be told I still do this even if I say it’s a defence mechanism. I believe in the 'don’t ask don't tell' philosophy of the American army but without the gayness attached to it.

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour 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. These are the specific verses of Corinthians that I want us to look at today. 

Love is patient. When you think about patience what comes to mind? I think waiting...more like the long wait (I think that's the title to some set book or something, hehe) but in as much as patience has a lot to do with waiting it also has something to do with faith. We wait for what we believe in. Something we have faith in will happen or change. I don’t see how we can be patient if we do not have faith and trust coz then again the two also go hand in hand. The book of psalms says that blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. Countless of verses tell us to hope in him, trust him, put our trust in him and not in man for He never disappoints. But the verses that jaz me are: wait upon the Lord and be still and know that I am God. Kwanza that one, be still…, what! Tis easier said than done I tell you!

So, love is patient. The bible doesn’t say with who or in what situation. It just says that love is patient. I like to excuse myself and say “the bible says love is patient not me!” then go ahead and do whatever I’m impatiently working at, hehe….but on a serious note love is patient. Meaning God is patient. Ask the Israelites they’ll attest to that for sure! And if God is indeed patient then we ought to be too. Consider the story of the king who forgave his servant of a debt he could not pay. The servant was so elated only to go out and find someone who was indebted to him and he could not forgive him. The story ends with this servant being jailed by the king for not showing mercy on his fellow servant. How can our God be so patient and we fail to? There’s got to be something we’re missing.  If truly He lives in us and it is He who lives and not us (Gal 2:20) then we ought to be patient people. But are we?

Love is kind. Now this word is an interesting word. When Jesus was told that he was a kind man he replied to them that none but the Father is kind. So what does kindness mean? David uses the word repeatedly in the book of Psalms. I wonder if he really understood it. The word of God also says that none is kind but the Father, that is, God the Father. What is to be kind?

The Cambridge dictionary describes this word as to be generous, helpful and to think about other people’s feelings. Now, how often are you generous, helpful and how often do you think about other people’s feelings? Generous I must say I am and often too, helpful not much, thinking about other people’s feeling…well….it depends….hehe. Love is kind. Love is all these things all the time in all situations and circumstances. This is deep! I think, if I evaluate myself honesty, I am not a kind person. If this is the definition I really am not kind. And neither are you! When you say that you love someone do u think about their feelings? Are you generous towards them? Are you helpful? Do you go out of your way to help? See I hate it when people say those three little (but oh so big) words “I love you.” I hate it because I believe they are just misusing the word and they do not know what it really means. Are you kind?

So go through the whole of that scripture and ask yourself if you are any of those things then you will understand what it means to love. I am still learning how to love and what it means to love. It is a lifelong process I tell you. But may God guide and teach you. May His Holy Spirit change you from who you are to a loveable person.