Looking Deeper

Why does the overwhelming lesson from God have to be trust?
And by trust I mean patience, peace, following without seeing the end destination, perseverance through trial, and loving the Lord and others despite yourself.
It seems like everything we go through to make us more Christ-like (good or bad) all boils down to trust.

Do I trust the Lord?

Yes.

Do I still want to take the reins in my life?

Yes.

Hmm. Sounds contradictory.

Why am I mentioning this?
Well, the Lord asks me to love all people. He asks me to love my neighbor like I love myself. O.K., what does that look like? I treat myself the best out of anybody I know. I feed myself when I am hungry. I sleep when I am tired. I find something to amuse myself when I am bored. When I am cold I try to get warm. When I am hot I try to get cool. Daily decisions are made as to how to best take care of me. I don't mean this in a selfish way. These are the basics that we all do for ourselves. It's part of being human. I desire to be more like Christ so I do things to see that I am growing and maturing as a Christian. At every moment of every day I am doing something as an act of love for myself. Even denying my selfish impulses to serve others is a form of love for myself because in doing so I become a better person. Now here's the deeper part. I still love myself despite my many faults. I know the depth of evil that is inside me. I am aware of the various wrong thoughts or desires within me. There are things about myself that irk me but can't be changed. There are times when I am really annoyed or frustrate with myself. Yet, despite my knowledge of all these things I still love myself.

Uh oh. Taking what I've just described and applying that to loving others I realize something really difficult. I've got to love people despite their good traits and their bad traits. I have to treat them like they are very important and with the best possible intentions in mind because that's how I show love for myself. I have to love them unconditionally, even if they irk, annoy, or anger me, because this is how I love myself. If they are hunger I should feed them. If they are naked I should clothe them. I should weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. I should show them the Lord and encourage them in their growth to be more Christ-like. These are all ways that I love myself. These are all ways that I should love others.

I am everyday placed in situations that require me to love my neighbors. God wants to me to love my neighbors as myself, because when I do, I show my love for Him. This goes back to trust. Do I trust that the Lord places me in the paths of these people and in the situations with these people because He loves me and wants me to show them love in return?

Yes.

This is my reminder and encouragement to love.