Thought For The Day

(I wrote this about a year ago and I thought it was a challenge we still needed to hear. Lets commit ourselves to loving each other.-Bro. D)

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a "4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited; 5 does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs; 6 finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.8 Love never ends."

The Lord really challenged me the other day and I want to share my experience because I believe that every Christian goes through this at some point. I have served as a pastor and a church member for many years in the local church and sometimes I have been so frustrated at things going on in the church that I thought about leaving. I would complain to my wife and friends about all the bad things going on there. God reminded me that the church is His bride and I need to be careful about how I talk about her. He also challenged me with, "Do you love the church where you are going?" I knew what God meant. He wasn't talking about the bricks and mortar. He meant the people. I remembered this text from 1 Corinthians and was challenged by it again. Most of us have used this to challenge us to love our spouses the right way, but now I use it to make sure I'm loving the church the right way. I was challenged by the fact that love keeps no record of wrongs. Love bears all things. Love is patient. God helped me realize that the biggest problem at my church was me not loving the church. I share this so that if you are struggling with your church, as I have in the past, that you can focus on loving the church like Christ loves you.