Love as I Have Loved You - Tuesday January 05, 2016
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34 NIV
A few months ago the most horrible thing happened in my house, and I'm humbled to say it was completely me. In a frustrating moment, caught up in my own selfishness, I said these words to my oldest daughter: "I don't want to have to love you until you respect me."
Actually I didn't say them – I yelled them. Yuck! Immediately after those tragic words came out of my mouth, my life flashed before my mind and I recalled all the many times I have severely disrespected God.
Then came the soft, loving voice of my Savior: "Aren't you glad that I don't treat you like that?" Whoa! I promptly stopped what I was doing and went to my daughter and asked for forgiveness.
There was something more important than forgiveness between the two of us that day. We talked at length about what God had said to me, how the way I treated her was the exact opposite of how God treats her. To be honest, I was more concerned about what I had done to her understanding of God than I was about how much I may have damaged our relationship.
When we mess up with our kids, we must respond with humility. We must own our sin and help them to see that God is so much more loving, kind, forgiving, and gracious than we are.
Submitted by:
Kelley Downie
Cedarcreek Community Church
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
One-Year Reading Plan:
Genesis 11:1-13:4
Matthew 5:1-26
Psalms 5:1-12
Proverbs 1:24-28
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.