Do Everything in Love

Have you heard of MOPS? Well, I am a part of a MOPS group were I live and I am a discussion group leader. So our main leader for MOPS asked all of us that are leaders in MOPS to choose a verse to share at our next meeting. So this is what I shared about last week, and it is also something that the Lord has been working on me. I pray it encourages you as you read it, because as I was meditating on the verse below, He kept putting different verses in front of me that spoke volumes to me. It's a bit long, but please stick with me. :)

I Corinthians 16:14 has been one of my favorite verses. I learned this verse as I was listening to Seeds Family Worship CD with my boys in the van. This CD is super cool and your children will love it, because it is scripture sung with upbeat music, and BOY is it Catchy! It repeats: Do everything in Love as part of the chorus. So it has been a verse that I carry closely and dear to my heart.

I Corinthians 16:14 says: ‘Let all you do be done in love’

Love = to take pleasure and delight in what you are doing

All = everything else being considered.

As moms we are stretched from left to right, up and down, just all over the place. We can become easily frustrated, running low on patience, tired of doing things around the house, changing diapers 5 to 6 or more times daily, correcting and disciplining constantly throughout the day. Preparing meals throughout the week, taking the kids to sports activities and practice, piano, guitar lessons, paying bills, taking care of sick little one and wiping runny noses, playing with cars with your little boys or dolls with your little girls, grocery shopping, laundry, etc, etc, etc the list is far to long.

As I began to think about this verse, and as I listen to it on my CD player, and it repeats do everything in love, I can’t help but to stop and thank the Lord for reminding me to do all these things that are part of me, of whom he made me be (a mom) are my responsibility and I have to do them in love. He commands us to them in love.

Ephesians 5:2 says: Walk in love ( what love? – the love of Jesus) it  says Walk in love, just as Christ Jesus also loves you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Ladies, it is not easy being a mom, our love is a sacrificial kind of love because we are giving up self to serve and love our families (our husband and children). When all we might want sometimes is peace and some quiet and to be alone for a little while.

Philippians 2:3 says: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important then yourselves.

To be honest with you, sometimes I want to be selfish. And because I want to be selfish and have my own agenda, which doesn’t include my family, the things that I do become a chore and not something I want to do!! I begin to whine and complain in my mind about not ever being able to do what I WANT! Because I am always doing things for others.

Paul Trip says it good so I am going to borrow some of his words here: When my children begin to misbehave and are in the way of my agenda of what I WANT, I begin to bark orders (this for me is yelling to my kids), and instill guilt, I threaten a punishment and walk away and my children are utterly unchanged by the encounter.

My Children and my family are important and all I do for them should be done in love, just as Jesus gave himself up for us in love.

The first portion of I Cor. 16:13-14 says be on the alert stand firm in the faith, act like men and be strong. – life isn’t easy but  all the things we do in love will be a fragrant aroma to our family, because they will see Jesus in us.

Colossians 3:14 says Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Lastly I Timothy 1:5 says, but the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

So as we do all these things in love, lets also remember that the goal of our instruction is love, to genuinely teach our children from a pure heart, sincere faith and a desire to do what is right. When we do these things in love we are displaying the Faith we have in Jesus and our children will be changed.