1 John 3:18-20
My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
It’s been one of those days! So when my mother e-mailed me tonight and asked, “Are you sick? I have not had a devo from you today nor heard from you this afternoon”… I laughingly replied that the devo was coming, and I feel fine! There was a time when I would have been beside myself with frustration and self-criticism for not getting the devotional written earlier in the day. But God has shown me a lot of valuable lessons in recent months… and one of them is to cut down on the “worried heart syndrome” that has plagued me for much of my life.
Last October, my husband and I felt a call from God to help my niece and her family move back to Arkansas from Texas. Part of our offer to help included being available when needed to assist with her three children… Timothy, age 3½; Zola, now 20 months; and Nathan, almost 6 months. To say we have learned more than we ever thought possible about “practicing real love” in the last few weeks/months would be an understatement. These babies and their parents are now a vital part of our lives…and frequent visitors at our house!
So this weekend, while both boys were under the weather, we kept Zola for a couple of days/nights. I took her home this morning, just in time to return home and grab a shower, then head to the funeral of a dear friend of my maternal grandmother. Mrs. Evelyn also happened to be a table mate of my Mam-ma Polly at the assisted living facility – and one of the matriarchs of my church. I was blessed by the service and all of the wonderful memories that were shared about this dear soul and her lifetime of practicing real love and her commitment to her family, which extended to three great-great-grandchildren. After the service, I visited my grandmother at the assisted living facility and took her a copy of Mrs. Evelyn’s funeral program.
This evening, we attended a junior high girls’ basketball game to watch my husband’s great-niece play for the local team. We don’t attend all of her games, but we try to make as many of those in the home gym as possible. It is important that she know we love her and support her activities.
So now you know why the devotional is late today. I was busy “practicing real love.” And while I could have set my alarm and gotten up before everyone else this morning – or skipped watching a movie tonight with my husband in order to write this earlier – I chose otherwise. I could have even opted not to write a devo today… and the world would not have come to an end!
The point of this is not to “make more of myself than I ought to,” as my grandmother would say. But I think we need to recognize the acts of “real love” that we practice… and to cut ourselves some slack when we are not superhuman! Even something as seemingly insignificant as caring for a toddler while her brothers were sick, or attending the funeral of someone we knew and loved – and showing concern and support for the family members who survive him/her, is putting love into real practice. Going to a junior high ballgame to cheer for a friend or family member is practicing real love. Writing a note to someone just to say “Hello!” …“Get well soon!” …or “I’m thinking about you” is a gesture of love in action.
It is important that we tell others we love them. It’s more important that we show them. It is also important that we give ourselves a break once in a while and stop all of the negative self-criticism. Sometimes we need to take a step backward and recognize that we are doing the best we can in the moment. We need to learn to trust God to make the difference and realize that He loves us no matter how much we do. Some of us are so worried about disappointing God or others that we fail to stop and practice a little real love on ourselves!
When you read this devo, stop and take a quick inventory of your day. Where are you practicing real love? Have you criticized yourself harshly and operated with a worried heart? How effective were your efforts to love others when you were feeling this way? Isn’t it time to ask God to bless you and keep you… to give you strength and courage to make acts of love – toward others AND yourself – your top priority of the day? If you do this, God will see that everything else that needs to get done is accomplished. After all…He just helped me finish this devotional, didn’t He?!
©2013 Debbie Robus
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