Many times I have prayed, "Lord, help me love people the way You love them" and "Help me see people through Your eyes." A good prayer to pray. A noble prayer; a heartfelt desire. But why do I pray that? Because I want to love people well. Yes, that is true. (hold that thought)
My husband and I are going through the devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. The devotional book is getting mixed reviews from us. The devotions were not written as devotions - they are the notes taken by his wife of his sermons and compiled into short devotions. Sometimes you can tell that you are missing the larger context and they can seem a bit disjointed. However, the reason it is a classic is because of the incredible insights this young pastor shares throughout the book. Challenging and thought-provoking stuff. So, a couple nights ago we read this:
"But the chief motivation behind Paul's service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and brokenhearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another."
Light bulb moment. It is those subtle shifts in thinking that make such a big difference isn't it? So, have I been praying wrongly? No, I don't think so, but I think I'll change it just a bit. Maybe my prayers will change to something like this:
"Jesus, You loved me in spite of all the ways I have failed you. You love me so much that You asked Your Father to treat me the way He treats You and to put my sin and failure on Your tab. Help me love You more and more and to serve others out of my love for You, Jesus so that it matters less and less to me how I am treated by them, because I am already treated like royalty by You."
May this motivation, to serve out of love for Jesus, be the light that shines brightly this Christmas season to a world in desperate need of Jesus.
"For even the Son of Man [Jesus] came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28
until next time...
and the greatest of these is love
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