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... 

Where Can They Go?

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139
photo by Tom Getz

My children can't accurately be called children.  They're young adults.  I've loved them to the moon & back.  And, I've taught them about my love for the Lord & his children.  But, will they choose to embrace the things I hold so dear?  I've been looking at my "love" in comparison to the love of God. 

We're promised in Romans 8:38, "... NOTHING can separate us from the love of God." Nothing is a pretty big deal. It really leaves out NOTHING :) 

We are assured in Psalm 103:8, "The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love." Unfailing love - unable, no matter the circumstances or the choices made by someone, to fail??

But, what if we don't want God's love or someone dear doesn't want God's love OR our love? True love doesn't come with strings. It's freely given. Love isn't contained by boundaries or diminished by someone's refusal to accept it!

David asked God in Psalm 139:7-10, "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me." 

God's love GOES with us - even when we don't want it... when we are hiding from it. Even there God's hand is upon us & leading us. That's the kind of love I want to have. God is love & He is unfailing, ever-present & never discouraged.

Psalm 139 is a great reminder that God will never leave us. But, it's also a great reminder that God promises to not let ANYTHING separate any of His children from His love - not even their choices.

(shared 9/4/12 with the Ann Voskamp One Thousand Gifts community)