The Test of True Love

When Christ was on earth He was asked about the commandments. He summed up what we should be doing on Earth by commanding us to Love God and to Love our neighbors as ourselves. It is easy to say I love you to my family or friends. It’s harder to love our enemies but I generally can convince myself that I actually do. I often think in my own mind that I love God the way I should.

However in the past few weeks I’ve been analyzing my love. Is it really what God asks of me? Or is it just what I think I should be doing. Is it more than words?

Be still and know that I am God is something I often find myself “too busy” to do. Yet silent meditation on the truth of God’s Word is how the Lord often reveals Himself to us. It takes a conscious decision on my part to be still and quiet in my heart.I’ve been convicted that my love for others is not as real as it should be. After all, the Bible tells us that without love our actions are worthless.

If the Spirit is actually working through our lives, Paul tells us that the first fruit of that Spirit will be love. So I’ve put myself through the biblical test and failed. I took 1 Corinthians 13 and put my name in the place of love to see if this passage could describe me.

the Love Test
Keri is patient and kind;
Keri does not envy or boast;
Keri, is not arrogant or rude.
Keri, does not insist on her own way;
Keri, is not irritable or resentful;
Keri, does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Keri’s love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.

In analyzing my own actions I’ve realized that I am not very loving. I may say or think that I am, but without these actions to back it up, my love is not real.

I was discouraged at the end of this test. But that feeling quickly turned to gratitude for a God who is all these things. God is all these things and more. He is actually love. He has patiently waited on us to do his will. He has reached down with loving kindess to save us.

With the discovery of my own problems in this area I’ve started to do some actual work, starting at the top of the list with patience. It is not enough to know we are lacking in an area and to dismiss it as “the way I am.” We can ask the Lord for help and work towards changing our hearts. So that’s what I’m doing. I encourage you to take the love test and ask the Lord to reveal areas where your life is lacking real love.
I hope this series will encourage you in your own walk with the Lord.