During the decade prior to our move to Texas, my husband sang and led praise and worship in our church and also, with the band he was a part of. He was passionate about using this gift and he used it well. Our daughter Kayla was born at the tail end of that period and while she may have attended an event or two where my husband sang, she doesn’t have a recollection of seeing him lead or hearing him sing.
Once we moved to Texas, Kayla expressed an interest in singing and she joined the children’s choir at our church. As the years progressed, she began singing and leading worship for our Elementary services. While my sister was in town to visit a few years ago, she attended a service to watch Kayla in action and she walked away in tears. My first thought was she was emotional because she was having a proud Aunt moment. However, my sister said as she watched Kayla, she saw my husband. She remembered how he encouraged everyone to worship and how he sang with joy, all of which she saw Kayla doing the exact same way! We realized that this gift was in her genetic makeup and it’s been amazing to see such unfold in her life: like father, like daughter :)
That made me think about us as daughters of our Heavenly Father. Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Therefore, each and everyone of us has attributes of God in us. In 1 John 4:8 we read that “God is love” and Matthew 5:44-45 reminds us to be imitators of such love, specifically by loving our enemies. I know most of us are familiar with the latter verses, but it’s one thing to know it and quite another to actually practice it, isn’t? The reality is that as children of the Most High, the Bible reminds us that such is the most evident proof of Who we belong to. As a child I often sang these lyrics: “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
Whether we are at school dealing with an obnoxious peer or at work dealing with a challenging co-worker or in a marriage with a difficult spouse or parenting a needy child, are we showing love? Are we responding to these not so pleasant folks with lack of compassion, lack of grace, or talking “smack” about them to everyone who crosses our path? Can those around us see Abba Father in how we talk and relate with others?
If you’re unsure of the answer, today is a good day to make some changes to ensure that the answer is yes. If you’re wondering how, it all starts with talking to God about it by saying: Lord, help me to show others that I am Yours in the way I love others as You love me. Forgive me Lord for the instances I’ve lost my marbles and I did not act like You.
Then, grasp firmly to His Word which is chock full of wisdom and exhortation on how to love as God loves us. Galatians 5:22-23 tell us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” By exhibiting these characteristics, we reflect our Maker.
Find someone you trust to help you remain accountable, someone who can be honest to tell you that you may need to rethink how you interact with others. Have a teachable spirit to receive such instruction without being offended. Proverbs 21:11 reminds us that “when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.”
The cry of my heart is may those we interact with see our Father in us. James 2:8 states, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.”
~Joyce