Valentine Challenge Week 2

 

Last week brought to us Valentine's Day and for some of us, or maybe most of us, that also meant that our week was busy with activities in preparation of that day. But when we become very busy, even for a good cause, it can wear us out and cause us to worry and fret.

Sometimes when we are very busy our attitudes can slip up and our perspective on life can be muddled.  We start to miss out on the blessings and pleasures right in front of our noses.

During my Bible reading I had reached Luke 10: 38-42.  I was not expecting to find a lesson about God's love to me through the story of Martha and Mary.  Martha, as you may recall, was the hostess and had invited Jesus to her home to eat.  She was very busy with the preparations and soon realized that Mary had decided to sit down at Jesus feet and listen to what he was teaching.  She was so enthralled by him.

Martha came into the room and scolded Mary in a not-so-subtle indirect way by telling Jesus to tell Mary she should help her instead of sitting and visiting.  But instead of rebuking Mary Jesus rebuked Martha, albeit in a gentle and respectful way.  He made it clear that Mary chose the best action... to spend time with him. 

And then it hit me, Jesus was showing us the type of love God has for each of us.  This is why He tells us to spend private time reading our Bible and praying every day.  Because God loves us so much He looks forward to spending private time with you and me.  God's love is deeply relational.

When we spend time alone with Him we are filled with His love and given His peace.  Notice how Mary didn't seem worried about anything when she was with Jesus.  Not even Martha's bad attitude could fluster her. I understood that when we allow God to surround us with His love all the distractions around us become less and less important.  And His love takes our worries away.  Isn't that beautiful? 

And on Valentines Day I found myself in Luke chapter 14.  I didn't even plan to reach the fourteenth chapter on the 14th of February!  In verses 7-14 Jesus taught through a parable the lesson that when we offer hospitality towards others we should do so with a humble attitude.  We should never help, give, or host with the intention of getting something back in return.  

I think that this is a lesson to me of how selfless God's love is towards us all. I mean He gave us His son!  He saved our lives!  And He gives us so many blessings!  There is simply no way we could ever repay Him for any of it.

I truly feel so humbled by all the goodness God lavishes upon me every day I live.  We all have so much if we belong to God.  And there were so many other aspects of His love that I learned over the week that I could never write it all in one post.  More blessings.

Jesus is our role model in serving with love.  And I hope to emulate him more each day.

Blessings to you as you look for ways to practice showing God's love towards others this week.

" Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

~ I John 4:7-8