"Much of the talk nowadays about loving one another is soupy and silly. It will not stand the biblical test. Love for people goes hand-in-hand with love for God--if you don't love the brother you see, how can you love the God you don't see? Loving God requires submission to his discipline--He rebukes, chastens, refines with fire, purifies by trial. Do we love Him enough to say yes to all that? Do we love others enough to encourage endurance in them?" This quote comes from Elizabeth Elliots's daily devotional. She is one of my favorite writers and is so challenging.
Lately, I have been challenged to remember to love people. Life gets busy quickly, especially in law school and its so easy to forget that other people exist in the world, well not just the world but right beside me. It's easy to get tunnel vision and focus solely on the things in front of me, and yet there are people around me who need to be encouraged. It's not only easy to forget to love people, but it's easy to ignore them (I know i'm guilty!). Often, loving people is hard. God refines us by fire and trials, yet we are called to love Him through each trial and every firey episode. I cannot say that I love people when I feel that they wrong me. The Lord is reminding me that loving people is about honoring Him in obedience, and because He first loved me, it is my honor to love others in the same manner. What a radical idea. I'm not sure that I'll ever learn quite how to love people as Jesus loves me. It doesn't take more than a moment to realize and remember how much the Lord has shown me His love and the depth of it. Valentine's day isn't just for married or dating couples. It's for all people. It's a day to remember that people may not deserve to be loved (or so it seems) but each of us by design (God's design) needs to be loved. Maybe some one near me needs to feel the love of God today.
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