Practice Love

Practice is hard work. Play practice, baseball or football practice, making biscuits -- it's all tough! Practice sessions are almost always full of failures, then working to not fail again. Practice is also usually filled with periods of embarrassing moments of humiliation!

God has called us to practice love. Practicing love is tough also because everyone isn't an object of our affections ... not so easy to love, even like. So how do we begin to love the unlovely, the rude & crass, the obnoxious and detestable? It helps when we determine to see others through the lens of a telescope instead of a microscope. More importantly, nothing is impossible to those who know they cannot do it alone. In 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." When we see over the mistakes and weaknesses of others, we apply God's kind of love -- an uncommon grace today. Matthew Henry writes, "The nature of a Christian's work, which is high work and hard work, the goodness of The Master, and the excellence of the reward, all require that our endeavors should be serious and earnest." The application of love in relationships trades frustration and exasperation for a sense of peace and compassion which always "surpasses understanding." Love practice is always in-season, but the month of February seems an especially appropriate time to begin. And, don't forget -- practice makes perfect!