How’s Your Love Life?
Good day, friend! As I was reading this morning, I came across a verse that spoke to me. Maybe it will speak to you as well.
Romans 15:1 says We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
There are a few people in my life that I could count ‘unlovely’ and difficult to deal with. Do you have any people in your life like that? I realize from this verse that I, being mature enough to diagnose the problem and trying to deal with the problem in my heart towards these people, may have to continue to bear with their weakness, their cold-heartedness and their “unloveliness”. Infirmity, according to Webster’s Dictionary, means the state of being infirm, frail, having a physical or moral weakness or defect. There are many people who surround us everyday who have infirmities. The morality of our society is eroding. However, this verse says that we who are strong cannot please ourselves. This means to me that I cannot avoid these people. I cannot speak ill of them and make myself feel better. I cannot pat myself on the back for ‘living a godly life’. I need to bear them up.
How do I bear up these hurting and weak people? Sometimes it means giving our lives by spending time in prayer for someone. Other times it means giving ourselves with love and understanding. It may also mean laying down our own selfish desires in order to meet the needs of another. Extending mercy to these people will bring mercy to us.
There are times when I feel I just CAN’T love. Those times, I have gritted my teeth and asked Jesus to love through me. Galatians 5:22 & 23 speaks of the fruit of the Spirit who dwells in us. We have the fruit of love inside of us that we need to call forth in those times.
Jesus was willing to lay His life down for us. We have His Spirit within us. We are made in the image of God. We must begin to walk in maturity and extend the love of Jesus to hurt and dying world. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13