"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant,"
1 Corinthians 13:4 (NRSV)
Prodigal Thoughts: This verse speaks volumes to me. Not only are we reminded of what love IS, but we can also understand what love IS NOT. One thing that is implied is that love is a verb…full of action. Keeping in mind that no one is capable of loving perfectly, we can still use this description that the Apostle Paul provides to the church in Corinth to influence the way we love others as well as the way we are loved by others. I’ll admit, when I began putting my thoughts down, I wanted to give some examples of what love is NOT based on VERY current happenings. But that wouldn’t reflect God’s love, would it? (Yep. God is teaching me even as I am sharing my heart with you.) So, what does love look like? Well, I don’t think I have the emotional or spiritual depth to perfectly explain what love "looks like." After all, I’m just about as flawed as you can get. With that understanding, here are a couple of ways that God has revealed/shown love to this prodigal soul.
– God has accepted, and continues to accept me despite my tendency to fall short or mess up.
– God continues to hold out hope for me that I will continually draw closer to Him through a devoted relationship.
– God reaches out to me when I step outside of His perfect will and encourages me toward forgiveness so He can return me to His path.
– He places His children around us as an extension of His love who will help me see when I have been sidetracked and they welcome me back into the fold.
The list goes on and on. These are just a handful of things He has shown me in the last few days.
Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would allow ourselves to be truly loved by our heavenly Father. That while those around us may get "love" wrong, that God will show us what they need so that even in our brokenness, He can love us and others. I pray that we would openly welcome the eyes of our hearts to see others that need God’s love and that we would share the gift of God’s love with them.
Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.
God’s grace on you…
Prodigal Mike~
Prodigal Thinker 