God has really been showing me more about His love and how this key is vital in seeing the kingdom operating through us as His people. On the weekend I went to a bridal shower for one of the ladies in our church. At one point in the evening we had to go around the circle and say something good and encouraging to her about herself. I watched with interest what people said. A few people who had known her for a while and who had dealt with her through some difficult issues found it quite difficult to come up with things and although they said nice things, I could tell that they had had to dig deep to find the words and I wondered then whether they were really genuine words. When it came to my turn I just shared my heart. I thanked her for sharing her life with hubby and I (as we had done the pre-marriage counselling) and affirmed her for being a valuable and very precious member of our homegroup. Within seconds she was crying (which really wasn’t my intention) but it suddenly dawned on me that all we are called to do is to love people for who they are. That is it!! We are all just meant to reflect the Father’s love to people – not to judge them. God clearly showed me that when we know people’s history and past mistakes that it can be difficult to find good in them and to affirm them, but because I haven’t known all her history and seen her behaviour in certain situations, for me it was easy. I could encourage her in how far she had come and just love her for who she was. The Father showed me that if He looked at us always based on our past mess ups and mistakes that He too would have a hard time finding anything valuable and good in us, but we know that He never looks at us this way – He chooses to remove our sin and remember it no more. His love is pure love and precious. This is the kind of love that He wants us to have for people – a love that protects, a love that covers and honours people, a love that will bring people into restoration and not judgement, a love that sees the potential in people and not their past failures and yet as people we often find that so hard to do – why is that? Could it be that we don’t see ourselves as worthy of receiving this from a Holy God and so we project our insecurities onto others by the way we treat them?
So if anything I am learning that Love is the greatest thing we have and that all we are called to do is love – leadership is great and important, but if we have not true love then it falls flat. people are not fools – they know when they are truly valued and loved – true love never fails.
