Above All...

1 Peter 4:1-11

Therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,

arm yourselves with the same way of thinking,

for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh

no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

... The end of things is at hand;

therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded ...

ABOVE ALL, keep loving one another earnestly,

since love covers a multitude of sins.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Is each has received a gift,

use it to serve on another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God;

whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies --

in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

dear friends,

this is the lesson i am learning. no matter how much pain they have caused me...or the people i love...no matter how ignorant i think they are...or selfish or prideful or repulsive or mean...

He Still Loves Them.

no matter how much i don't want to....above all, i must keep on loving them, because love covers their sins just as it does mine. in fact, it covers a multitude of sins. and i don't live anymore for the passions -- whether fiery or joyful -- of the flesh, but for the will of God.

the only thing that helps me is to make myself stop thinking about my disdain towards them and take note of His presence. i had to turn on music that reminds me of who He is...beautiful, beloved, clothed in glory and justice, truthful, and peaceful. then i had to cry. then i had to read His words.

it worked a little.

He breathed His life inside of me a little.

that's all.