Fruit of the Spirit - Week 1, Day 3

Day 3: Choose Love

Here comes another tough truth about love. Are you ready?
Love is choosing to do the loving thing, even when you don't feel like doing it.

How many times in your life have you known what the loving thing to do is in a particular situation, but you still didn't do it? You saw the friend in need, but you turned away. You saw one of your parents could use a little help, but you didn't lift a finger. You saw your classmate who needed a little bit of encouragement, but you just couldn't get the words to come out of your mouth.

Why is it so hard to do the loving thing? Sometimes, it's because we are lazy. It's easier to sit around and ignore what is going on around us. Sometimes we don't do the loving thing because it makes us feel awkward and unsure. If I say these encouraging words to this person, they might get the wrong idea, or I might make myself too vulnerable by sharing how I feel about them, and I'm not sure I want to put myself in that position.

American novelist, Anne Lamott, wrote of an eight-year-old boy who had a younger sister who was dying of leukemia. He was told that without a blood transfusion, his sister would die. His parents asked if they could test the boy's blood to see if his blood was compatible with hers. They tested it, and it was a match.

They then asked the little boy if he would give his sister a pint of his blood to her. They told him it was her only chance of living. He said he would have to think about it overnight. The next day he told his parents he was willing to donate his blood for his sister. They took him to the hospital; he was put on the gurney beside his six-year-old sister. Both were hooked up to IVs, and then the nurse began the transfusion.

The boy laid there in silence until the doctor came over to see how he was doing. The little boy looked at the doctor and asked, "How soon until I start to die?" That little boy was willing to give his life for his sister. That's love.

He made his choice, and he chose to do the loving thing.

Every day we show our family, our friends, and the people in our sphere of influence what we really think of them. We show them our love or our lack of love in the ways that we treat them and in the ways that we serve them. We show them every day if we truly love them or not by the way that we speak to them or speak to others about them.

Love is not some catchphrase. It's not words. It is action. 1 John 3:18 (NLT) says,

"Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions."

Jesus said in John 13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."

The number one reason people are attracted to Christ is because of His love for us. The number one reason people are repelled from Christ is due to the lack of love in His followers. In your actions towards others, do you love them or judge them? Do you encourage them, or do you put them down? Do you put their needs ahead of your needs, or is everything about you?

Time Out:

I am going to give you a list of words, and I want you to pick the loving things to do.

In our words, what is the loving thing to say?
In our actions, what is the loving thing that people can do?
In our actions, what are the unloving things that people can do?

Encouragement

Sarcasm

Put-downs

Comforting others

Inspiring others

Helping others

Criticizing others

Mocking others

My guess is, the first three questions weren't hard for you to answer correctly. We know the loving thing to do, so why don't we do it more often?

There is a sin called pride that lurks inside of each of us. Pride tells us that we are better than everyone else, that they should cater to what we want, and that they should put us first. Do you have any pride inside of you?

What does God think of pride? Check out James 4:6.
When the Bible says that God opposes the prideful, it means He stiff-arms them. He keeps prideful people at a distance. I don't know about you, but I don't want God stiff-arming me today. Spend some time and ask God to reveal any sinful pride that might be inside of you today.