Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels!

What do "dirty, rotten scoundrels" have to do with LOVE? And what do "dirty, rotten scoundrels" have to do with walking a tightrope?  

My words today are aimed at ME. I've consistently battled against being a black & white girl when it comes to wrong & right. I've had a tough time knowing exactly how to love a person (or how to appropriately to show my love) when I don't necessary care too much for the person or condone their choices & behaviors. 

I am "balance" challenged most days!

Does anyone else find it difficult to walk that fine line between helping someone & enabling them to continue on their path of poor choices? And, what about the fine line between showing love to someone & appearing to support choices & behaviors? 

God is showing me daily--often moment by moment--that UNCONDITIONAL GODLY LOVE has nothing to do with wrong & right! Completely LOVING someone doesn't have to mean that I have to COMPLETELY agree with their choices. 

The circumstances of my life in the past 3-4 years have been a great awakening for me about God's love. I've never had a problem with loving my own children unconditionally... but, that's a mom thing isn't it? Even when we feel like we could string our kids up by their toenails, we seem to giggle inside & know that we still love them no matter what they do. 

But, how do we show LOVE & ACCEPTANCE to those who just don't seem to deserve it? I truly believe that the only way is through Christ. It doesn't seem to be a humanly possible thing... on my own. It's a miraculous to find that you truly love someone you don't really "like" that much :) 

And, for me to base my love upon right & wrong choices of others is very detrimental to my personal relationship with God. By taking the name of Christ & calling myself a Christian, I believe that I am being called to be a person of LOVE! The more I read God's word & the more that I talk with Him, the more convicted I am about loving without conditions. I can't say that it's easy. But, my spirit tells me that it's the only way my heart can be clear in front of the Lord. 

It's easy to say that LOVE is my guide. But truthfully, sometimes life gets in the way of knowing how to best show love. For me lately, it's a constant act of discipline & obedience to my Lord.

His words: 

• "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good." Romans 12:9
• "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." 1 Corinthians 13:17 
• "Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works." James 2:26
• "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

I'm so very thankful for the opportunity I have to serve as a volunteer in my home church, Madison Park Church of God, through Worship Arts & Women's Ministries. This note was written as I was working on a weekly Worship Arts note for them.

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today...