Read 1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV
Do everything in love.
Today’s verse is short…but it packs a wallop!
Because “everything”….means EVERYTHING! There are no exceptions to the rule. Doing everything in love is a pretty tall order. I am not sure about you but there are days when I do most things because I feel obligated to do them. I feel like I am responsible to do them; it’s the right thing to do. I even feel slightly forced to do them, or worse, I do them out of spite. “Love” really isn’t a part of the picture at all.
But there are days when love wins out and I am able to live and act from a heart that is grateful for receiving Christ’s love and eager to act in love toward others. On those days genuine kindness shows up. I am able to fold that 700th load of laundry without grumbling because I am grateful for my many blessings and a family who shares in them. I can chauffeur my kids around like an underpaid Uber driver knowing that I am helping them have the opportunity to choose to live for Jesus in their everyday lives too.
Here is the key: doing everything in love is all about perspective. When I don’t act in love I am only thinking about me. What I want. What I need. What I like. But when I look at things through the perspective of love, the things I do become about others. Looking at things from a perspective of love flips our normal tendencies upside down! It makes us more like Jesus.
