"So I'm going to tell you. Find someone you love and feel that love in every pore of your body. Love that person even more tomorrow. And then the next day, love one additional person; and every day after that, increase the number of people you love. I told them the longer the list of people they love fully, the happier they will be. That, I said, is true success... The adult responsibility to love someone every day a little more than you did the day before."
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
This verse about love is beautiful, gentle, and kind, but it is also convicting when we ask ourselves: who are we? If this is love, who are we? If God is love, and we are made in His image and expected to follow in His example, how does our character, our spiritual growth, and our heart align with the definition of love that the Bible presents to us?
With tokens of inspiration from people in my life, alongside the pressing desire of who I want to be as an individual, I have recently written out a post-it note and stuck it right on my mirror. It says as follows:
"Kayla is patient, Kayla is kind. Kayla does not envy, Kayla does not boast, Kayla is not proud. Kayla does not dishonor others, Kayla is not self-seeking, Kayla is not easily angered, Kayla keeps no record of wrongs. Kayla does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Kayla always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
I have found that there is something spiritual that happens in our hearts when we make scripture intimate in our own lives. Looking at what the Word defines as love, I can see that I have failed time and time again at the various attributes it describes. Yet, inviting these words to have a personal connection with my own individual soul allows me to be held accountable by the very characteristics that I use to describe myself. Will I fail from here forth? Oh, I am sure of it. Numerous times. Yet, I can learn to be disciplined, as I have brought into existence what I desire to be through the words I have written on that little post-it. Before I act, speak, or think, I can ask myself: Am I being patient? Am I being kind? Am I being envious or easily angered? Most importantly, am I pushing myself to live up to the high standard of love that God calls us to? I pray that we all yearn to be more like the God Who created us. I pray that we are willing to do what it takes to collaborate with Him in molding ourselves into someone who represents Him well. And who is God, exactly? God is love.
"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." -1 John 4:8
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