Practice Love

Practice is hard work: practice baseball or driving or making biscuits -- it's all tough!  Practice sessions usually include failures, then working not-to-fail again.  Practice is also generally filled with moments of deep humility!

 

God has called us to practice love.  Practicing love is tough because not person is an object of our affections! 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 can overlook the mistakes and weaknesses of others, we’re applying 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 our 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!