Over the past several years, I have received a daily devotion via email.
Some speak to me more than others. During this holiday week, this one is
particularly relevant as we spend time or talk with our family.
“Love …. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Corinthians 13:5
In the busy day-to-day of life it is challenging to keep precious
relationships nurtured. It’s important to be intentional in cultivating
the relationships we treasure
so that they do not erode like sand
slipping down the hillside.
God gives us amazing advice about what selfless love can look like.
1 Corinthians 13:5 holds a beautiful nugget for us: “love keeps no record of wrongs.”
Every family finds irritations in one another. None of us are
perfect. Yet how we decide, ahead of time, to respond to those
irritations will make a world of difference in our families.
We can resent the irritations and eventually the person; we can count
them and point them out and nag about them. Or we can choose to polish
up the good things we see and hear and put our focus there. We can ask
God for growth in patience and
gentleness in both our family members and
in ourselves.
Thankfulness is heart changing. Choose early to nurture a love that
“keeps no record of wrongs”
but finds the good and stores up a “record
of rights” in your heart toward one another.
God, Thank you that You promise to grant me the patience
and gentleness that I need day to day. Please help me to look with eyes
that see the good and respond with love that polishes up the good in my
loved ones. When something needs to be addressed, please help me to
address it without a spontaneous outburst and with the attitude of
building up our relationship. Today I ask You to help me choose to
focus on the “record of rights” rather than on the things that irritate
me. Please help this to be my norm long before irritations have a chance
to build a wall in my heart. Thank you for Your unconditional love to
me. Please supply me with Your perspective and a thankful heart
today. Amen.
http://thelife.com/dailydevotions/record-of-rights
