How patient are you with your husband? How about your kids? Your mother-in-law? Your own mom? Some of you have the patience of a saint. I, unfortunately did not get that gift. It came a bit later in life through the gift of Jesus, but I am still a total work in progress. Sadly I find that I can easily allow my flesh to take over at times.
I can fail a lot in the following areas, how about you?
How would you say you are at being kind to others? Are you sometimes rude to people on the road or food service people? Do you sometimes consider yourself better than others in your mind? Do you find yourself getting entitled when someone cuts in front of you at the checkout lanes? Do you get entitled when you come home expecting it to be clean and calm only to find it a mess and full of chaos?
Do you laugh when others tell a story about someone else’s sin? Do you laugh or make fun of people that break the law? Do you watch TV shows or movies that glorify sinful behavior? When a neighbor tells you about a socially acceptable sin, do you acknowledge it like it were normal and OK? Socially acceptable meaning things such as cheating on taxes, running red lights or stop signs, driving over the speed limit, same sex dating, having sex before marriage, gossip, adultery, selling or doing drugs, lying to friends that your kid is sick just to get out of something (even though your kid is NOT sick).
Take a moment to read through these passages.
1 John 4:16-20 ESV
[16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. [17] By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. [19] We love because he first loved us. [20] If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV
[4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Psalm 103:14 ESV
[14] For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
The thing that stands out to me is that God IS love. Without love I cannot abide in (live in and with) God. Yikes! The thing I need to pay attention to most is how I love. How I love others, how I love myself, and how I love God. In order to do this, I must first understand what love is in practical terms. “God is love” doesn’t quite make sense to me, but when I put it in the context of what love is, it helps me to understand. I need to be patient and kind. I need to not be boastful or envious, but humble and supportive. I must not be arrogant or rude but gracious. I must love the truth!
Wow, that sounds hard. I am a recovering complainer. A recovering gossip. A recovering mean girl! All by the strength of Jesus am I recovering through sanctification. I am not perfect, no human is. But the Holy Spirit is guiding me, teaching me, allowing me to see my sin a bit at a time so that I might become more like Jesus. He knows me, he remembers that I am dust. That goes for all of us! Because I love Jesus, I want to be more like him and desire to please Him even when I fail. I get back up and pray, and confess, and start again. How will you start again today? Pick one area that you need to improve on and go for it sister!!
An Excellent Wife 