Love is a gracious and patient teacher

Godly love is impartial. By its very nature it is unearned. God lavished it upon me while I was still a sinner and His enemy. The expectation is that in having received such love I would now graciously extend the same to others. I'm still learning how to do this and I find myself regularly falling into the trap this world offers of loving only those who can return it to me. When falling short of a Godly standard I express this self-seeking "love" in many ways: Giving gifts to those who can give gifts in return, being kind to those who are kind to me, blessing those who bless me...

There was a woman in a recent class of mine who I found to be quite condescending. She displayed a "know-it-all" attitude at times and had a terrible sense of timing in asking questions. She was also very awkward in expressing certain personal details about her life. So how did I respond to her? I condescended in return (she deserved it), I ignored her knowledge (I'm much smarter), I scorned her questions (they were so obvious), and I laughed at her awkwardness (she shouldn't be talking of such things). In all these instances, she proved herself to be more righteous than I.

All of this has left me in a pensive state, considering how best to honor my Lord and my God. I keep coming back to three truths that prove the greatness of Jesus' love for me.

1) The greater the giver of love, the greater the love.

2) The less deserving the recipient of love, the greater the love.

3) The greater the expression of love, the greater the love.

I must extrapolate that the greatest expression of love must come from a completely perfect benefactor, received by a completely imperfect beneficiary, and expressed in a completely excellent manner. God is perfect love. Apart from Him there is nothing in me that is good. He could express His love for me in no greater way than to die in my place on the cross.

I was able to humble myself to the point of approaching the young lady and asking her forgiveness for my lack of love, but the bad taste from my conduct is still in my mouth. Thankfully, God's grace has given me permission and time to learn. The power of His patience is unsurpassed and not dependent on the excellence of my conduct. Jesus just keeps loving me, showering me with His grace, expressing it through his kindness. There is no better teacher.