Let me start of by saying, Lord, please "decrease" me as I go "deeper" into your word. And let it be for the "edifying" of your people and let no pride come to me for it is your word God, not mine".
Love can be defined a number of ways but I like this one: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Hmmph'. I love my kids, I love my moma, love my husband, love my family, love my neigbors....but do I really? Now all, as much as I am writing this to many of you, I'm writing this for myself also. Pastor Oliver kind of touched on this a little bit on this past Sunday about John 13:34-35 (a little). This passage is where Jesus is about to leave the disciples and he told them, " A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another".
Ever been somewhere, and you saw someone or a situation or someone disrespected you to the nth' degree and as soon as your mind was about to place judgement on them or the situation God stops your thought, slowly whispers sweet and forgiving words in your ear......"For if not for GRACE Peaches, there go you"! Wow! Your thought changes and you no longer feel the spirit of criticism or judgement but empathy and compassion. That's the true renlentless spirit of God. He wants us to "love" eachother so bad but for some reason we just cant seem to shake the judgements and harshness of this world, eerrghh! I love him so much that I want nothing but to remain in his prescense all day everyday but I step out, as often as I choose to, when I want to "be like this world" and pass judgement and criticize and blame and complain. It's so easy for us but it shouldnt be! And for the folks who blantanly disrespect and mistreat you, ouh, wouldnt it be a great day if you really told these individuals how you really felt about them! Nah', it really wouldnt because in order for them to really know God they've got to see him in us and actin' a "fool" on somebody, even though they might deserve it, only shames God...he who is suppose to be living within us. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said (to the disciples), "A new commandment I give to you, that you "LOVE" one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. Wow, can we even with our "finite" mind begin to understand the ridiculous love that Jesus has for us and then we turn around and show it to somebody else, Wow! I cant even put into words what that would feel like to be on the receiving end of this type of love from my family, my husband, my children, my friends, etc. That's my prayer for my life and for that of my kids. Not that we be "educated" to the nines or rock the best "gear" or speak a couple different languages or have all that the world promises us but that we walk in God's spirit of love.....especially to those who most of us feel dont even deserve it.
I was in Wal-Mart tonight and I was standing in the customer service line waiting my turn to return some things and I noticed a young white lady that walked by me. She was a little overweight and her clothes looked a little worn and she had what looked to be a newborn baby in the shopping cart with not a lot of blankets over him/her (just a small thin little blanket). And as she turned and I could see her profile, she put a 16 oz. drink up to her mouth and begin to drink. My first thought, that's not healthy and then you got that baby in that cart with no blankets.....and I promise as soon as the thought came to me, God touched me ever so gently, whispered ever so softly in my ear, "Peaches, you dont know that child's situation, you dont know if that's all she's got to put on her baby. This child might not be able to afford to buy proper food to eat right and she's young, what were you eating, drinking and doing at her age, plus, she has "baby", have you been in her situation or her shoes before....No. Wow, it startled me for a brief moment then tears started to well up in my eyes and not for the obvious reasons you would think, you know that God was scolding me. No, it was because he "LOVED" me enough to correct me and allow me to see people the way he does!!!! I felt so unbelievalby blessed to be standing right there in that moment "judging" because had I not been (in that moment, "judging") then I wouldnt have felt the prescence of God so strongly. My God, I'm tearing up as I write this because it just amazes me that someone could "love" me so much that in my "wrong doing' he guided me to do right! God, I want to feel that type of love all the time. I want to look at people who absolutely could spit on me and have real "love" and empathy for them. If you talk about and dislkie me I want to be filled with so much of your love that I go and fall on my knees and pray for "our" relationship to be strengthened.
I know many of you are like, ouh, uh-uh, I dont want that type of love. And I get it, the world has shown us that we should "literally" do unto others as they do unto us" (which is wrong). It's really, do unto others as "you would have them" do unto you. Meaning, even if they cuss you out, you treat them like you would "want" them to treat you (even though they may not be doing it at the present moment). Therefore if someone tells me how much they dont like me then it is my responsibility as a Chrisitian and as God's chosen vessel to not retaliate and spew back to them the same venom that they spewed towards me but it is to treat them with just as much love and respect as I "wished" they were giving me. Yes, yes I know, this my friend is probably the hardest thing that one could ever undertake on their own but we dont have to do this on our own, God will! All we have to do is ask him to put his spirit down on the inside of us so we can "love" no matter what the situation looks like, "LOVE", no matter what you think about that person, "LOVE", inspite of all folk do and say to you, "LOVE"!
I bless Jesus today for his revelation in my life and let's be clear, "because" of this relvelation the devil is waiting on me at the door in the morning with his tricks to make me say, "shhh, this for the birds, I cant love these ignorant a-- folks". He's waiting (the devil because God dosent tempt us) to put me in a situation of judgement and criticizm again but I have to pray that God gives me the spirit of discenrnment to know what is of God (a situation set up to build my faith in him) and what is of the devil (his tricks, etc.). I just wanted to share my story with all who care to read it. I love being transparent, that's the only way I believe people will "truly" be able to see "God" living on the inside of you!
Be Blessed ere'body and continue to pray for me as I pray for you! God help us "all" to honestly be more like you!!!
April
Monday, January 4, 2010
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