My reflection on this morning...
Plopped in my small, cushy living room chair, with a hot cup of coffee that I over-creamed and a Bible on my lap, I am studying the passage of 1 John 4:10-21; my eyes brush across the words of verse 16,
"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
At this time, my train of thought is brought to halt when I hear the obnoxious squeaking of Blue's ball. I glance over to see Alex laying on the couch, squeaking away while Blue is going nuts trying to attain the ball from Alex...
"Alex! Would you be quiet?!" I snap, my eyes glowering, "I am trying to read my Bible!"
Without a word, Alex takes my attitude, quite accustomed to it. He resumes playing with Blue just a little quieter.
However, I am struck- dumbfounded at what I just did. I read the verse once again, but this time it felt as if Scripture was thrown at my hypocrisy and hit me square in the head!
"Whoever abides in love abides in God..."
Then, I continue further down to verse 21...
"And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."
How could I read about love in the Bible, then act so harshly towards my own husband? How could I expect God to change my heart in conformity to His Word, yet continue to act unloving and impatient towards Alex... so often that the bitter tone in my voice no longer troubles him?
I have so often excused my attitude for self-righteous rationalizations. I am not a morning person... I specifically asked Alex to be quiet while I read, and he will not respect that... I am not acting hateful, I am just trying to get my point across...
My excuses fall so short.
God demonstrated His perfect love towards me, depraved in my sin, by sending Jesus Christ to die for me, so I have no excuse but to also show that kind of love to others (1 John 4:10); yet, I am so quick to let my impatience get the best of me.
Alex has always been a goofy guy. He has always enjoyed playing with Blue on the couch in the morning. He always likes to make obnoxious noises. That is just the way he is, and I love him for it! Alex did not do a single thing differently than he usually does this morning, so my snappy comment is 100% on me. Thankfully, I realized what God was so obviously trying to show me, and I immediately apologized to Alex for my hurtful attitude. I know I will fail time and time again, but God's grace is there to rescue me from my own selfish habits and self-righteous rationale; God's grace redeems my circumstances and my relationships, and leads me on the path of true righteousness, humility, and love.
Am I advocating that we should be A-OK with trying to meditate on God's Word with a noisy husband, dog, and squeaky toy in the background? Haha, no! The point is that our reactions matter more than we think, even in those little moments that occur throughout the day. I think we can all agree that there are more loving ways to ask someone to quiet down, right?
We all have sinful hearts. We all have moments of anger, bitterness, annoyance, selfishness, and pride that manifest themselves in even the "little" ways like a quick snappy comment, a short answer, or a period of silence towards another. Here is the thing, God sees our heart. We can try to excuse those "little" moments by blaming the circumstances, or the time of day, or how you felt unfairly treated. But, like I said before, those excuses fall so flat in the light of God's holy expectation to love, as He first loved us.
By God's grace, I can face those moments of anger and impatience head on, repent, then learn to grow in love here in my own home to my own husband.
Little moments matter!
-Grace B.
Plopped in my small, cushy living room chair, with a hot cup of coffee that I over-creamed and a Bible on my lap, I am studying the passage of 1 John 4:10-21; my eyes brush across the words of verse 16,
"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
At this time, my train of thought is brought to halt when I hear the obnoxious squeaking of Blue's ball. I glance over to see Alex laying on the couch, squeaking away while Blue is going nuts trying to attain the ball from Alex...
"Alex! Would you be quiet?!" I snap, my eyes glowering, "I am trying to read my Bible!"
Without a word, Alex takes my attitude, quite accustomed to it. He resumes playing with Blue just a little quieter.
However, I am struck- dumbfounded at what I just did. I read the verse once again, but this time it felt as if Scripture was thrown at my hypocrisy and hit me square in the head!
"Whoever abides in love abides in God..."
Then, I continue further down to verse 21...
"And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."
How could I read about love in the Bible, then act so harshly towards my own husband? How could I expect God to change my heart in conformity to His Word, yet continue to act unloving and impatient towards Alex... so often that the bitter tone in my voice no longer troubles him?
I have so often excused my attitude for self-righteous rationalizations. I am not a morning person... I specifically asked Alex to be quiet while I read, and he will not respect that... I am not acting hateful, I am just trying to get my point across...
My excuses fall so short.
God demonstrated His perfect love towards me, depraved in my sin, by sending Jesus Christ to die for me, so I have no excuse but to also show that kind of love to others (1 John 4:10); yet, I am so quick to let my impatience get the best of me.
Alex has always been a goofy guy. He has always enjoyed playing with Blue on the couch in the morning. He always likes to make obnoxious noises. That is just the way he is, and I love him for it! Alex did not do a single thing differently than he usually does this morning, so my snappy comment is 100% on me. Thankfully, I realized what God was so obviously trying to show me, and I immediately apologized to Alex for my hurtful attitude. I know I will fail time and time again, but God's grace is there to rescue me from my own selfish habits and self-righteous rationale; God's grace redeems my circumstances and my relationships, and leads me on the path of true righteousness, humility, and love.
Am I advocating that we should be A-OK with trying to meditate on God's Word with a noisy husband, dog, and squeaky toy in the background? Haha, no! The point is that our reactions matter more than we think, even in those little moments that occur throughout the day. I think we can all agree that there are more loving ways to ask someone to quiet down, right?
We all have sinful hearts. We all have moments of anger, bitterness, annoyance, selfishness, and pride that manifest themselves in even the "little" ways like a quick snappy comment, a short answer, or a period of silence towards another. Here is the thing, God sees our heart. We can try to excuse those "little" moments by blaming the circumstances, or the time of day, or how you felt unfairly treated. But, like I said before, those excuses fall so flat in the light of God's holy expectation to love, as He first loved us.
By God's grace, I can face those moments of anger and impatience head on, repent, then learn to grow in love here in my own home to my own husband.
Little moments matter!
-Grace B.
Observing this pic from yesterday, I think you get the idea of our goofy relationship... :-P
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