Galatians 6:10 says,“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
The Lord has convicted me lately that I haven’t been loving the ladies in my church well.
Some ladies I connect with right away and it is easy to love them. Other ladies, we meet for the first time, part our ways, and for whatever reason I do not make any effort to seek them out again. I see them on Sundays or in social gatherings but I really don’t feel like engaging. Maybe you have experienced this.
Here are some reasons I’ve resisted engaging: the person was a bit unfriendly when we first met, they are stand-offish, or they have offended me by something they said or did at one point. When this has happened, I’ve held onto some bitterness and resentment toward that person. I’ve been unwilling to show grace or forgiveness to what I have perceived as offenses. It’s difficult for me to be candid with my feelings because it exposes my character flaws and the ugliness of my sin.
God has made me aware of how shallow my passing conversations have been with ladies in my church.Obstacles that have gotten in the way of me taking the time to talk to my sisters include having other commitments at the present moment and running late for a meeting or responsibility . Additionally, God has been showing me in leadership roles, when I haven’t received the response I wished from someone, I respond with resentment. I guess when I think about it, I’ve been holding onto grudges and it has prevented me from forming deep relationships with these ladies.
Jesus said this to his apostles at the last supper:“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”(John 13:35)
I cannot be an effective ambassador of Christ and His love to the world if the world sees I haven’t been willing to love my sisters. I would be a hypocrite. God calls me to love others even when I have not received love from them. That is the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39).
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
1 John 4:7-11
How can I love the ladies in my church well? Practically, these are some things that I can begin doing:
Arriving early to church to engage and ask how they are doingThinking about a sincere uplifting comment that I can encourage them withAsking one of them to lunch or coffee
I truly want to show kindness, sincere care, thoughtfulness, humility and love to ALL of my sisters in Christ… not just the ones I find easy to love. The Holy Spirit living in me is delighted to help me with that. Romans 8: 5 “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
The Lord has convicted me to love the ladies in my church well.What about you?Are there people in your life that you haven’t been willing to love well?
Lord, you are good and you have called me to follow after you. Thank you for showing me areas I am not being obedient in and for helping me grow in love. Would you give me opportunities to love the people in my life I have not been willing to love and reveal any other offenses in me? In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Eileen Drake