Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Years ago, I had an argument with my wife. We were getting ready for church. It was 10 to 8. We usually leave at 8:10 and I was a little bit OCD. So I told my wife, "Hey, Nancy, it's about 7:55. We have church in 15 minutes. We got to leave." And then it was 8:00 and then 8:05, and I said, "Hey Nancy, we're going to leave for church in five minutes because church starts at 8:30."
Well, at 8:10, she decided to put some toast or some bread in the toaster. And as soon as the toast came out, I took the toast and I slammed it on the cupboard and basically said some unkind words to my wife. Have you ever had an argument like that? After that argument, she went into her car. She started to drive away, and I stood there and I said, "I'm sorry." She drove off. Then I went to my car thinking, "Fine." And so I drove off to church.
I got about two blocks away, spun around thinking in my mind, "You are such a hypocrite. You don't even know how to love." And I'd been married about two years. I turned around, went back into the parking lot where I used to live, and she pulled up and I went just like this. And I went, "Honey, I'm so sorry." We went in the house. We talked for about two hours, and it was at that point that I knew I needed to love my wife way, way better.
The Priority of Love
You know, if you have an argument like that, maybe not like that, but are there areas in your life that you know you need to love? There's a great verse in the Bible. It's Colossians chapter 3 and verse 14. It says, "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect unity." You know, love is not a feeling. It's a choice to love somebody else more than yourself.
So as you look at this, I want to look at the priority. It says right there in the verse "above all." Above all, clothe yourselves with love. I want you to look at your life. Look at your marriage. Look at your family. Look at your relationships. Your work relationships. In the gym, in recreation, whatever it might be. How well is love a priority in your life? Is it a priority? Because He says, right there, "Above all, clothe yourselves with love."
It's not just like, you know, put a shirt on, put half of a sock on. All right. He says, clothe yourselves. Have all of your life be clothed with love, because He says, right there, "which binds us all together in perfect unity." The idea here is it's a perfect bond of unity, this whole idea of love.
Love Covers a Multitude
You know, the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 4, "Love covers a multitude of sins." Think about that. It has the ability to cover up the bad things, or the wrong things, or the unloving things that other people do to you. You know, it's very interesting. I've been reading recently, if you go through life thinking that everybody's going to love you and treat you a certain way, you will be constantly disappointed because Jesus said Himself in this world, you'll have tribulation. You're going to have trouble. It doesn't mean we need to be sad or negative. It just means that we live in a world where people don't naturally love.
Knowing the God of Love
Can I ask you a question? Do you know this person of love? His name is Jesus Christ. The Bible says He loved us so much that He came and offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin because He loved you and me, and He gave of Himself. That's true biblical love. I would also encourage you to spend time in God's Word, because that's where we get to know the heart of Jesus Christ, the God who made us, who is the ultimate of love. And then lastly, you and I live in a world where people don't know how to love. You and I need to be in this world and share that love with other people.
Love is a Choice
You know the great commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." And do me a favor and I gotta remind myself this: don't wait for a feeling to love. The feelings won’t always be there. Yeah, you actually have to love against how you feel. That doesn't make it inauthentic. That doesn't make it fake. That makes it a choice. Because love is not a feeling. Is it sometimes a feeling that we feel? Absolutely. We want to love people and we feel loving. That's great. But love is not a feeling. It's a choice to love somebody else more than you love yourself.
May you, may I be this kind of person who loves like Jesus and gives the love of Jesus to others who need it.
