The Antidote to Negativity – Day 9

Truth:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (New International Version)

Thought:

Love is the antidote to negativity. How can you act in love and speak:

Careless words Matthew 12:35-37, (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
“Loose” words Proverbs 10:19, (New International Version)
Angry words James 1:19, (New Living Translation)
Cutting words Proverbs 12:18, (New Living Translation)
Discouraging words Numbers 32:7, (New International Version)
Untruthful words Ephesians 4:25, (New International Version)
Complaining words Philippians 2:14-16, (New Living Translation
Slanderous words Ephesians 4:31, (New International Version)
Obscene words Ephesians 5:4, (New International Version)
Abusive words Ephesians 4:29, (New Living Translation)
Dissenting words Proverbs 16:28, (New International Version)
Or Gossip Proverbs 20:19? (New Living Translation)

You can’t.

Love fulfills the law (Romans 13:10). It is the revealed nature of God  (1 John 4:16). It is how we are to treat one another (John 13:34-35). It’s how we are to behave towards everyone (Luke 10:27).  Yet the word “love” is trite. It’s not specific enough. We love our spouse. We love our dog. We love jalapeños in sandwiches. How can we know what love is?

We need to understand love the way God wants us to understand it. We can only define our love by how God loved us:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 (New International Version)

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church–a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor–since they’re already “one” in marriage. Ephesians 5:25-28 (The Message)

And we can only measure our love, by the way God measures it:

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:2-4 (New International Version)

So “love” means obedience to God. Love means self-sacrifice. Love means you show it before the other one deserves it.

Have you shown that love to someone today?

Prayer:

Lord, I thank You that Your commands are not burdensome and I thank You You’ve given the Holy Spirit to help me in my weakness. I want to reflect Your goodness to people not directly in Your light.  Help me show love even before I feel like it, so the love I show can be sincere. Thank You that since this prayer is according to Your will, I know I have what I ask of You.

Challenge:

Every time you speak careless, “loose,” angry, cutting, discouraging, untruthful, complaining, slanderous, obscene, abusive or dissenting words and gossip, confess it to God and ask the forgiveness of the one you spoke them to. Have grace for others who speak them to you.

Declaration:
I choose to reflect the light of the Son to the side of the world that’s away from the Son. I choose to put on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.