The Love of GOD: How we, as Christians, should act.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV

I wanted to start with these verses because they are basically the foundation for what I am writing. I think that today so many Christians miss such a basic message in the Bible~ the message of love. One of the commandments Jesus gave us was to love our neighbors, friends and enemies, as we love ourselves. But I have seen so many people put their personal opinions and beliefs above loving others, instead of having a reputation for being loving, kind, and honorable people, we are seen as uncaring, rude, hypocrites. This just breaks my heart.

 Growing up as a Pastor's daughter I have seen people who appear to be mature Christians turn out to be so immature in areas such as love, they gossip about others, give off heirs, and make people feel inferior to them. This is not what God called us to do. We are to be a light to the world, and that doesn't mean having our name is bright Hollywood-like lights, no people are supposed to know that we are different by our actions not that we advertise that we are good godly Christians, but that we live it!!! This verse also tells us that Love is not rude. I have seen so many Christians behave so rudely in so many ways. Whether it is by ignoring someone because they don't want to talk to them, blowing someone off because of their personal problems, or by correcting the way someone speaks. I heard actor in a movie talking with another character and thought what a great biblical lesson you could use that for when talking about love not being rude. The actor had stated something to which the man asked something along the lines of whether or not he had finished college, he says "Why did I make a grammatical error?" the other man replies, "No, and even if you had I would not be so rude as to point it out." I found it truly amazing that even in a secular film you can see that the world does understand some ideas of what is proper and kind, when so many Christians don't have a clue about how to walk in love with others! I have seen people at Christian schools, churches, and other places treat people with such rudeness, by correcting the way they pronounce words, who's to say the correct way to say something, yes there are rules and stuff, but really people all over the country have their own way of speaking English, and people in England speak English differently than people in the US, Scotland, or Ireland. People all over the world have different ways of speaking. This is just one small example of how someone could be rude, there are many other ways and sadly Christians are the ones that I have seen acting this way more than others. I hate it that the Christian name has been stained by people who have refused to completely let go of their behavior and thinking prior to salvation, they cover it up with their spirituality but after time it comes out and many times damages the church.

Why do we have so many churches being split, people backsliding, people being angry with the Pastor and leaving the church?? It is because we have lost sight of one of the most important cornerstones of our faith; we have forgotten how to walk in LOVE with one another. We become selfish, arrogant, self-consumed, and forget that we are a reflection of Christ to this lost world. We have the responsibility of sharing the love of God with people, but how can we do that when we can't even share His love with our own brothers and sisters in Christ. I think we should all spend a little more time looking at our life and how we treat others, and correct where we are wrong so that we can touch more people and turn away less people.