In a chaotic world, let’s choose love.
Every morning, I clear out news alerts that accumulate on my phone overnight. The markets, tragedies, outrage, and cynicism compete for our emotional energies.
However, if we are not careful, the noise that currently screams from all angles in our culture can consume us, and we lose track of the most important things that God calls us to do.
I do care about children in foster homes, corrupt government, tragedies in other countries, and under-served people. But I how do I balance this with what confronts me every day right in my family, neighborhood, and church?
One of the things that is clear in Scripture is our greatest calling is to be people who are characterized by love. This love is described and directed in two ways repeatedly by Christ.
Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.
The Christian’s Mission
Our mission is to love well because we have been loved well.
At times this will be overseas or involve marching to protest injustice, but most days it will simply be accomplished by having a heart of grace and compassion for those closest to us.
Love is put into action where we are, to the people around us.
Internet outrage or political posturing ultimately accomplishes very little. Instead we are called to love every day and mostly to those right around us. In Colossians 3:14, we are reminded of this,
And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Are You Loving Well?
How are you doing in love those around you well? In the preceding verses in Colossians 3, we are given adjectives that describe someone who is committed to love. These are a description of the way that Christ lived and the life he desires for us.
- Compassion – My heart wants what is best for them
- Kindness – My actions choose to bless them
- Humility – My attitude reflects that I know that I am part of the problem.
- Meekness – My self control reflects I trust God more than my anger.
- Patience – My tolerance for disagreement is growing.
- Merciful – My expectation is not perfection, or anywhere close.
- Forgiving – My heart is quick to move on from offenses that are confessed.
This week, there we will be noise that will be calling for our attention.
Political, church and family squabbles call out for your thoughts. When we focus on these things, we don’t love those around us well. Unfortunately, little is accomplished by our desire to know the truth regarding most controversies.
Choose to Love
We will be known and make an impact by our love. Can you make that your focus this week? God will bless that and you will probably have a far better weekend.
