The other day I was reading the Love Chapter (1 Corinthians 13) in the Amplified Bible. Verse 7 completely stopped me in my tracks. It reads : "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. WOW!! Take a moment and ponder how your "love" holds up to this standard. We've all found ourselves in hurtful and sometimes, heartbreaking situations. The pain that we experience is often caused by individuals we love. So in the midst of someone you love hurting you, are you still able to believe the best about them? Are you able to hold on to the hope and belief that you will be loved and cared for the way you deserve to be? Finally, are you able to endure and hold on to the love you say you have even in the hardest and harshest of times when you just want to run out the door? That, my friends, is LOVE.
Yes...It's definitely a process and not an easy one! But i've learned that in every situation where I feel hurt by someone, if I take the attention off of myself for a moment and put myself in the other person's shoes, I realize how that person must be hurting also. Of course it doesn't justify bad or hurtful behavior but it's easier to give love and help end or diminish someone else's pain. and it also expands the heart's capacity to love and see others as God loves and sees them. And it makes forgiveness a no-brainer!
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