A couple of Sundays ago I was struck by the sermon at church. The sermon was entitled, "A Month to Meet Jesus: Sharing Love" and it really resonated with me. Somewhere in the middle the gears in my head began to spin, and I came up with the idea to consciously choose love. What would it be like if I chose love when it was particularly difficult to do? And what would God do in my life as a result? I thought of ways that I could do this and the idea of keeping track came to mind.
So here I am. Using this blog as a tool to journal about the ways that I have chosen to love those around me and through this experience grow in Christ. To be quite honest, it is a way to expose and reflect on one of the things I struggle with most - selfishness. I really feel like that's what my choice on love is based on. I choose to love myself before thinking about others, and I hope that this experience will open my eyes on ways to switch that choice around.
Here are the words from God that inspired me to take on this challenge from BibleGateway.com
Luke 6:27-36 (New International Version, ©2010)
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Will this be a challenge? Absolutely. I can already think of a hundred times I HAVEN'T chosen love recently, and I am excited to follow in Jesus' footsteps (to the best of my ability) and to see where He leads me in the next year.
2011 will be A Year In Love.
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