Whatever is Pure - February 2011
Love Everyone, Yeah Right
I don’t care if you are the most Godly person in the world we all have a sinful nature. It is tough to love those who either hate us or who just give us a hard time, isn’t it?
Romans 12:18 "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
This doesn’t say as far as it depends on others, it says as far as it depends on YOU. You see, we can never control other people’s emotions or their feelings for us. Since we have grown up in a performance based world most people’s love or friendship for us is based upon "What have you done for me lately?" On the other hand there are those where you could spend all your waking hours trying to please them and it still would NOT be enough for them to like you. So how do we love them?
First of all we have to understand that when we were away from God and maybe even hated or disliked God, God STILL LOVED US. He loved us so much that when we were dead in our sins he sent his only Son, Jesus to die a horrible death so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Since God loved us first even when we were deep in our sin how much more should we love others? If you are saved by God’s grace then heaven is in your future and that should BE ENOUGH for us to live a joyful life. Just think, heaven is guaranteed to the believer. So then no matter how many people dislike or mistreat you pray that in your heart you can get to the point where it doesn’t matter. Our only concern should be to help others get to heaven and help lead them to Jesus. Don’t let your pride get in the way of helping those who may dislike you. If someone dislikes you and you haven’t done anything to provoke this DON’T WORRY. The issue is not with you but with them. They may be harboring so much jealousy and frustration that they may resent the peace that the Lord gives you. Remember where your strength lies and who protects and restores.
Romans Chapter 11 talks about being grafted into the branches of a tree. The analogy is the root is God and the branches are his offspring. When we are grafted in to the branch we are saved but other branches may have been cut off.
Romans 11:18 "do not boast over those branches. If you do consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you."
I used to drive a hearse as a part time job when I was in college. On this one trip I needed to load up the flowers in the hearse and get them to the cemetery before I went back to get the casket. It was an old country road and I was daydreaming as usual. All of a sudden I missed the dirt road to the right and slammed on the brakes, BIG MISTAKE. All the flowers and arrangements came flying forward along with a tidal wave of water. As I pulled up to the gravesite and got out the back was a mess. I was putting blue carnations on yellow stems and yellow carnations on blue stems, WHAT A MESS. After the funeral those carnations had already begun to die. It wasn’t because they had broken off of the stem. They had been broken off from the root. We can never live when we are apart from the root.
There are other branches all around you but only one root. Don’t worry about the other branches; just be glad you are connected to the root. Since you have the ability to control your own emotions and not the emotions of those around you, be careful not to judge. ONLY WORRY about the relationship between you and God. If you love the Lord will al your heart, soul and mind then you will have the ability with the Lords help to love those who may be at odds with you.
"Love Everyone", yes you can do that when you focus on Jesus instead of focusing on your circumstances.
Have a great day. Brad
©2010 Brad Henry
Contact Brad to receive permission before using this article or passing this article on through email or another electronic or printed means.
He Invites Us To Love Those He Loves
Have you ever seen a fearless child throw themselves into the arms of a perfect stranger to them - but a dear family member or beloved friend of their parents? I've been the delighted and surprised recipient of such a hug and I smiled my thanks to their parents as I carefully hugged their daughter in return. I was in desperate need of the unconditional, restoring love that was contained in their little one's heart toward me.How did that child learn to love me before she even met me? She learned by her parent's example. To prepare her for our visit, her mom and dad showed her pictures that I had sent their way over the years that we were apart. As her mother prepared the house for my arrival, she regaled her daughter with stories about our friendship. Earlier in the week, they made a special trip to the store to purchase some of my favourite treats. Her daughter drank in all the information and tucked it away in her heart until the hour that we finally met at the bus depot.
If we, as God's children, remain as attentive, free of preconceived ideas and teachable as my friend's pre-schooler was that day, we'll see who our Heavenly Father loves. We'll walk alongside him to embrace those who are in need of His love, through us. Throughout his Word, he speaks of His love for those who are away from his fellowship and calls us to come along with him to bring them home.
Let them with ears to hear, truly hear and let those with eyes to see, truly see those around them with through the loving eyes of the Father.
© 2009 Katherine Walden
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Pinnacle of Success
Love the Lord thy God with all your heartand love your neighbor as yourself,
there is no other pinnacle of success for this life,
no other measure of your worth,
and yet no greater challenge.
© 2010 Judith Kittredge
Contact Judith directly for permission before reprinting or using or fowarding in any format.
As of May 2012, "WHATEVER IS PURE" ARCHIVES will no longer be seeking submissions. As most authors and poets now have their own blogs, we noticed a significant drop in submissions over the past year and felt it was best to move on to other endeavors.
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