Walking in love…

Often times it is a lot easier to do the vertical relationship with God than it is to walk out horizontal relationships with other people. Offenses, conflicts, disagreements are all things that no one is immune to. Difficult circumstances happen in all sorts of relationships, so what can we do to stay in a place of love towards others when it is difficult or hard?

As I was pondering difficulty within a relationship recently, I sought the Lord for wisdom. I asked Him for help with staying in love when it felt difficult to do so. He responded to my questions with this, “What does love look like?” And I immediately thought of 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Corinthians 13 says,  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, 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.

Then a question came up in my heart, “Does what your about to do or say lead to loving your neighbor as yourself?” I believe that asking ourselves this question when relating to others can help us become more self aware within our relationships. So simple, yet so profound.

What would our relationships look like if we stopped to ask ourselves this simple question before speaking or acting? What if the 1 Corinthians kind of love was operating through us? I believe a lot of misunderstandings, conflict, division and strife could be avoided if we remember to keep our love on and allow God’s kind of love to flow through us. May we all seek to love others like He loves us.