I'll be honest with you: it takes work to develop your love walk. But we know that love is a fruit of the Spirit, and you can grow in this fruit of love. It is important to know that if you have been born again, then God's love is already abiding in you (Rom. 5:5).
The Lord has dealt with me many times concerning areas where I have missed it in my love walk. Even though the Bible tells us that love is not supposed to notice a suffered wrong, I recall a time when I did take notice and really yielded to the flesh.
One day I was praying the love scriptures from First Corinthians 13:4-8 from the Amplified Bible. I substituted my name for the word "love" every time it was used. Where it says, "Love is kind," I said, "Kate is kind" and so on. (This would be a great thing for you to do as well.)
I got ready to go to the office, still reciting the scriptures, "Kate bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, Kate endures all things." I was really feeling good.
I got into my new car that morning feeling full of God's love. I decided to pick up my mail at the post office and was reading a letter in the parking lot. As I was sitting in my brand new car, reading the mail, a lady pulled up alongside me, opened her door, and smashed her door into mine!
I pretty much ignored it, thinking she accidentally hit my door. Remember, love hardly notices? So I continued to read my letter. All of a sudden, she did it again! I thought, "That lady is just not having a good day."
The third time, the lady made sure that I was looking and on purpose she smashed my car door with her not-so-new car. She hit my door, slammed her door shut, said some things to me that I won't repeat and stomped off mad into the post office.
Remember, just five minutes before, I loved everybody! Now suddenly I didn't feel so loving. In fact, I began meditating on what I was going to say to this woman when she came out of the post office! Apparently, I had parked too close to the line, not leaving her enough room to get out of her car comfortably, and it upset her.
So, there I was—presented with an opportunity to walk in the love of God that I had been speaking over myself earlier that day. Well, love sure enough wouldn't get in a fight with this lady about a car door. I could already see the newspaper headlines, "Local Evangelist Beats Up Woman At Post Office."
I decided the best thing to do was avoid the confrontation. Yes, this was my brand-new car, but cars are not more important than people. I spent time after that really praying for her.
If my parking too close to the line upset her that much, she must really have needed my prayers. We don't know what people are going through. Perhaps she just lost a loved one. Maybe her husband was in the hospital. Or maybe she was going through a divorce. We don't always know what motivates people to do unpleasant things, but you can be sure there's usually a reason.
That's why it's so important for us as Christians to have compassion for others and show them the love of God. Forbearance is a Godly characteristic. The more you grow in the love of God, the stronger you will become spiritually, and the more victory you will see in your life. Make it your habit to develop a strong love walk because the Bible says, "Love never fails!" (1 Cor. 13:8).
Let's show people the love of God by reaching out with His love. Love really is the key to gaining victory and becoming an uncommon achiever.
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