One recent morning, I decided to get up early and make apple cinnamon mini-muffins with fresh blueberries instead of offering everyone cereal or instant grits or oatmeal before school/work… I just knew everyone was going to be appreciative… they smelled so good and the blueberries were perfect - not too tart or too ripe - perfect… I took them out of the oven at just the right time.
They looked great and they smelled great! As I was putting them on a plate I was smiling and singing and then I heard this behind me, “UHhhh, I don’t like mine with blueberries”… “Did you make any without blueberries???”… “I only like imitation blueberries, not the real ones”… I kid you not… not a single one of the 4 people I got up extra early for was grateful for my going over and beyond……… at that point I could live for Jesus or live for Dawn… uh huh........ yep...
We all have situations where we choose to interact or react every day. If you’re like me, some days you do a great job of living for Christ, loving others and serving, too, but some days you might also be like me and fail miserably.
Lately, everywhere I go I get messages about love… the command to love, the power of love, the meaning of love, etc, etc. I think when we chose to love we are choosing to live for Christ. Last week before Caleb left for school one morning, he wanted to show me something that was in his devotion book. He said, “Read this part, Mom”. It was 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 from The Message version of the Bible. It says this, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” I read it and then he smiled and said, “I didn’t know that was in the Bible… I just thought it was a song we hear all the time on the radio.” (If you'd like to hear it, too, click here: The Proof of Your Love)
Truth be told, I want to live for Jesus in ALL I say and do but in reality when I am pushed for the 22nd time (or just after the 2nd time some days) I tend to want to push back, especially if the person pushing is not on my 'favorites' list. I want to love instead of being the creaky, rusty gate but my heart aches when I try to love the unlovable and get nothing pleasant in return. I want to believe that those around us want what's best for us instead of seeking closeness for their gain. Simply put, I want to love and be loved back. Here's the thing... when I am loving with the hopes of receiving love from others sometimes I get that love back and sometimes I don't. But when I am seeking existence in that love or significance or a reason to keep loving based on what I get in return from those around me, I am setting myself up for heartbreak. My source, my significance, my assurance, my returned love is always there... but it's ONLY ALWAYS there in Christ. He never returns love with evil. His mercies are new every morning and his compassions never fail! (Lamentations 3:22-23) He loves me even when I am unlovable... even when I push away or try to push Him away. His love pursues me past the point of my submission. He is in constant, relentless pursuit of me(and you, too)... ALWAYS!
Oswald Chambers said in My Utmost for His Highest, "The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross...a love that is not earned and can never be. ...the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39). That's a reason I should choose Christ, a reason I want to choose Christ. I was created to love Him and thrive in Him. Those who love me here on earth are the gravy... they are the icing on the cake... they are the added blessings in my life and while I am extremely grateful for them, I know that the perfect love I crave can only be found in Christ.
How can I come to the end of me and my desires and still have ALL I need? Because at the end of me, I find Him... the Him who is true love! "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). His love for us didn't end after the Resurrection. His love is unfailing every day. His love knows no limits and His love, loves the unlovable every time! I'm not going to get it right every day. I may not even get it right today but I am choosing to try and live/love for Him.
BTW, I may or may not have smiled and agreed to make the mini-muffins with no blueberries next time … J
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