Late to the prom

To say that I have an obsession with Galatians 5 may be an understatement.  I have found myself coming back to this chapter time and time again.  The area in my life where I can say I have been more than hesitant to relinquish control to God is in the area of loving others.  I know I know.  It is what all of Jesus’ teaching can be boiled down to.  That is why I am late to the prom. 

source

I have read it. 
I have believed it. 
Now God has led me to implement it. 

I have found ways to love other people that have a tendency to be difficult to love.  There is one person in particular that I should be able to love for at least one giant reason.  I cloaked my concern for this person’s faith walk in love but it wasn’t love at all.  I was annihilating this person.  I was living not in freedom but in complete bondage of conditional love.  I was harboring years of resentment and worse using God’s word to release venomous words not for this person’s good but to hurt them as I felt hurt. 

For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion not disregard of religion amounts to anything.  What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.    Galatians 5:6 MSG

You would think my faith was alive and thriving but if my faith is expressed in love then my faith is dead.  If my faith pulse was measured by how well I love this one particular person it would be staggeringly slow.        

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.  Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom.  Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.  For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence:  Love others as you love yourself.  That’s an act of true freedom.  If you bite and ravage each other, watch out-in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?  Galatians 5:13-15 MSG

I know everyone has ATLEAST one person in their life they have found themselves withholding love.  Withholding this love is ultimately growing your bondage and keeping you from the true freedom the verses above speak of.  How do we do love?  How do we actively love those not easily loved?

The first thing I have done is to stop focusing on all the reasons I have come up with not to love this person.  I made a list of 100 reasons why I should love this person and every time my thoughts start to think negatively I look at the list or remember one of them and start saying it over and over again.  Then when the person does something you view as questionable give them the benefit of the doubt.  I am not talking about a sin here.  I am talking about the things this person says and does that makes you sin by not loving.  Then begin praying about the things God would have you do to show your love to this person.  This means actually doing things for them.  Try to do at least one thing a week.  Make a phone call, send cookies, anything to deliberately show your love.  Watch your heart, freedom, and love grow. 

We can give Him our time without handing Him our heart.  Withholding love is just that.