Thoughts on Love...

Loving others is something we all struggle with at some point…these last few months the Lord has been showing me how little grace and love I extend to others…particularly to those whom I don’t quite feel like loving…

As Believers in Christ Jesus, we are called to love others as He first loved us;  this includes those people who are challenging to love as well as those whom we hold dear to us such as our immediate family…

Whilst I struggle inwardly against what I know to be true, I fail miserably in the Lord’s will for my life…I realise that I need to submit to His plan, embrace those He has brought along my path and pray that His love, mercy and grace would flow through me…

Love is not just a feeling…more often than not it is a choice.  Oh, such a humbling, painful choice it can be!

Thoughts such as, “Why Lord…?  Why do I have to love this person?  I don’t want to!” run through my mind, and yet His still small voice rings loud and clear…love.  Love covers a multitude of sins.

Love is it what makes everything you do worthwhile.

I have subsequently begun reading only the Old King James Bible, and I was surprised to read in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 that no mention of love is made…merely the beautiful, meaningful word, ‘Charity’.

What does charity mean?  I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out…I was secretly hoping that it perhaps didn’t mention 'love' anywhere…but here is the definition I found and the true message was quite clear...
Charity:  1.  The giving of help such as money or food, to those in need.  2.  an organization set up to provide help to those in need.  3.  help given to the need; alms.  4.  a kindly attitude towards people.  5.  love of one's fellow human beings.

I know I cannot love without God…He IS love, and from Him comes love – the pure, true, self-sacrificing love that is almost non-existent in our world. 

It is the love that is unselfish and blind.  I don’t possess such a love, but I do know the source of such a love…I am in search of it; daily crying out to the Lord for Him to give me what I long for…

Realising my weaknesses, I also realise my absolute need for Jesus and how trivial my good works are when love, or rather, charity, is absent.

Such have been my ponderings of late, and they have drawn me closer to the Lord, and continue to humble me greatly…I am nothing in my own right, nor do I have the power to love as He first loved us. 

I am a work in progress, a sinner saved by grace and in awe at Christ’s redeeming love for me…I am determined to seek Him further, and oh!  Why does it hurt so much to be pruned?

The truth is we require frequent pruning…our hearts need to be purged, and we daily need to admit our failings and acknowledge how imperfect we are, and how great the Love of Christ is!

Dear friends, I write this today not to discourage you…but rather to encourage you, as I do myself.  I write this so that I may remember when I am tempted to fall prey to Satan’s lies that I do not need to love anyone that I don’t wish to…

This is not what the Bible clearly instructs us to do as Believers in Christ!

True, it is a daily act of submission, and oh, how disheartening it can be at times! 

But may we not become weary in doing good, nor may we ever become self-righteous which we are often apt to do…

Take heart, be of good courage and love…love with no ulterior motive.

Love is not about what we will gain from it, it is about being obedient to the Lord and becoming the beautiful work of art He intended us to be...

..."But the greatest of these is love..."  ~ Corinthians 13:13

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I end with ever so much love in Jesus!  Have a blessed week, dear readers!

 

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 Oh, and before I forget...my little ''love'' giveaway is still open to all readers across the globe...if this is your first time visiting Beautiful Girlhood, please don't let that hinder you...the more the merrier, and you are most welcome here!  I happily invite you to stop by this post to join in the giveaway delights, sweet friends...{{smiles}}

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~ Five Star Frou Frou, The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Roses of Inspiration, Wise Woman Link-Up, Raising Homemakers Link-Up, Cooking and Crafting with J and J and Modest Monday

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Painting by:  Frederick Morgan

Thoughtful Thursday

 “A true home is one of the most sacred of places...  It is a resting place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle...  It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded.  Few things we can do in this world are so well worth doing as the making of a beautiful and happy home.  He who does this builds a sanctuary for God and opens a fountain of blessing for men.” –JR Miller

...Don’t you just love this beautiful painting...?

~ She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Proverbs 31:27 ~

Thursday blessings lovely readers,

Kelly-Anne

P.S.  Don't miss my celebratory giveaway!  I am giving away one copy of Beautiful Girlhood revised by Karen Andreola!  Go HERE to enter...

Thought for the Week...

Image via Pinterest

The morning air is chilly; your breath clings cold to your cheeks.  The rain beats down hard upon the roof.  You begin to feel the cold seeping in so you snuggle down under the covers...  The house is silent of all sounds except the drops of water which flood down from the heavens.  It is going to be a rainy day.  

Slowly you climb out of bed, pull on your clothes as quickly as possible and sigh a big, depressive sigh.  You gaze out the window, fingering the hard, cold material of the curtain.  It seems as if the day is being washed away along with the rain.  Your hopes, your plans - soaked.  You feel your heart sinking, miserable.  What is the use?  You ask.

How many days have you woken up to some great disappointment?  How many times has the rain appeared to drown all your hopes?  On these days it seems as if there is only bad.  All the excitement you went to sleep with is only stripped away with the dawning light.  You stumble through the day, dwelling on what could have been - what almost was.  If only...  The light is quite gone for you it seems and the bad is all around you, surrounding you with its dark waters.  You never noticed the imperfection before..

Your face reflects the ingratitude stored within the walls of your heart.  What is the use of hiding it, you may ask.  If the day dawns 'bad' then surely it will stay bad?

The answer to this is no. 

How many times my attitude to the day has been like the one I described above, I cannot begin to count.  My  unthankfulness, ingratitude, and cross feelings blocked the path to joy because I felt and saw and thought the bad.  Instead of waking up with a heart of thanks for the rain, I woke up seeing the negative - a day spoiled and wet.

Instead of praising God for His mercies in providing us and the surrounding farmers and neighbors with much needed and prayed for rain, I chose to give in to the disappointment I felt at having my plans thwarted - my plans changed.  

Yes, I sometimes I allow my feelings to get the better of me, to rule me.  I see the bad - only the bad.  The bad in the weather, the bad in my family members.  All I see is how hard I have it!

But on the days when something happens, changes perhaps and messes up my little world, I need to take my thoughts captive and instead give thanks to Christ for His grace.  ...How hard this is to do!!  How is it possible to see the good?  But in the times when I do manage to hold it together and allow the Lord to work, I find I have a peace and joy.  Thanking God in the 'bad' isn't easy but it is right.

I see that when I change my thinking and my outlook, the whole day looks brighter - in spite of the rain!  With a positive attitude instead of the negative, I enjoy the rest of my day.  The droplets of water no longer feel hot and unwelcome on my face, but rather cool and refreshing to my soul.  By thanking and submitting to the the will of Jesus I release myself from the negative.

I need to learn how to be thankful in ALL circumstances; to spot the good things in each situation.  Yes, the bad things are very easy to see, but it is the good things that aren't. 

My challenge for this week is to really think about what I am feeling.  Is there a cross thought waiting to be indulged or is there a blessing to be embraced?

In Christ,

Kelly-Anne