Valuable

"God's compassion should be a natural part of our behavior and walking in love should not be a strain."

WE MUST VALUE what other people value. That's part of love. We do not have to take on their interest, but if that hobby, animal, job, etc. matters to them, then it should matter to us. We value it in our conversation, in our behavior. Speaking, of course, of things that are morally good according to God’s Word. We must be good listeners and the biggest part of listening is allowing the other person to speak and then showing we have heard.

This is especially true of those who are sick. We do not value the illness, but we build the person up, we encourage them in hope. We do not ignore their suffering, nor do we fling our health in their face. Sometimes, the worst behavior we can exhibit toward others is a wave and a laugh. No one wants to be ignored, and God sets our example. Galatians 4:9 says we know Him, but even greater, He knows us. Psalm 139 says He knows our thoughts and what we will speak before it is said. He sent His Spirit to us so that individually we can walk in His plan for us. If God knows the sparrows that fall, then He knows us and that person we should be compassionate towards. God’s compassion should be a natural part of our behavior and walking in love should not be a strain.

He considers our friendships, who we should or shouldn't hang out with. He is definitely with us when we are falling in love. Our marital relationships matter. He desires our marriage to be joyful and full of His abundance. Though much of marriage involves the flesh and the emotions, He designed both and can and will make us strong physically and mentally so that our life is beautiful.

“This is a good life—my heart is glad, my soul is full of joy, and my body is at rest. Who could want for more?” (Psalm 16:9 VOICE)

As healthy individuals and healthy couples we can then show His grace to others, in friendships, in counseling, where His wisdom speaks through us, and especially in passersby. I pray for so many people that I pass in the grocery store. Probably no one is praying for them, and I can make a difference. I choose to love and not to criticize. Not their appearance or lifestyle (right or wrong). Not what they eat or drink or how they talk. The fixing is up to God. The praying is mine, and hatred and opinion will get in the way of a fervent effective prayer. As will flippant display of care. When our care looks like carelessness, we are wrong.

People are worth our time and patience. Jesus proved this when He wept over the poor and broken calling out to Him for deliverance, when He forgave those the Pharisees thought were too sinful to bother with. People are not a means to an end for us but are the entire purpose of His life and death and Resurrection. If He would forgive the thief on the cross without requiring anything but acceptance, then here is the image for our behavior, and anywhere I act otherwise, I am wrong.

“Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.” (Isaiah 49:1)

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

“But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.” (Galatians 1:23-24)

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com