Are You “In Love?”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”

Psalm 143:8: “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”

In the Corinthians passage, I hear Paul telling me to “do everything in love.” And today, I am aware of so many times when the things I do are not “in love.”  And my natural tendency is to beat myself up for that.  But over the last week or so, I have been reminded that when my actions don’t come out of love, it is usually because I am not “in love”; that is, I am not feeling loved.  When I don’t feel loved, I am more defensive, jealous, anger-prone, judgmental, and take things more personally than I should (among other not-so-good things).   I’m not proud of that; it’s just the way I am.

But I’ve noticed something else about myself.  There are things I can do to reliably be “in love.” The Psalm above speaks to this.  If I will spend some time in the morning reading scripture, connecting with God’s presence (prayer, meditation, etc) and focusing on gratitude, I am much more likely to live my day out in love.  I’ve known this for a long time, but way too often I still don’t do it.  That is why I so enjoy these meditations every day whether you all read them or not.  They are helping me stay on track, to stay “in love.”  They are the way I “let the morning bring me word of [God’s] unfailing love” for me. 

Don’t misunderstand me. This is not to say that you should do what I do.  I try to do what I’ve described here because it does the trick for me.  You have figure out what works for you.  I am saying you should do that.  As you do, know that I love you all like crazy.

Questions: What helps you be “in love?” Are there practices that help you feel loved and affirmed for who you are? 

Prayer:  Your love for us God is new and available every morning.  Help us feel connected to that love more of the time than we do now.

Prayer focus:  Pray for people who grew up not being reminded that they are loved every day. 

Song: Reckless Love – Cory Asbury