Love Never Fails

I was reading an online devotional today about taming the tongue. I have done whole studies on that subject, for obvious reasons. Controlling what comes out the mouth is incredibly important; however, since what comes out the mouth reflects what is in the heart, what is in the heart is of greater importance. My mouth reflects my heart.

That is exactly why words do hurt. That is exactly why unchecked comments leave scars. That is exactly why unwarranted criticism and self righteousness does the damage it does. I was talking with a friend the other day about how often in Christianity, especially in Independent circles, there is a focus on changing the outside without an equal emphasis on doing something about the inside. Granted man sees the outside, but God sees the inside. The thing is-the inside is always evidenced by the outside. It is something that can be hid or faked for a little while, but not forever.

I find myself in a familiar place, learning again, to tame my words, but in order to do that, I need to work on my heart and thought life. God calls us to love, not hate. Really hard to do that when there is fear. Love and fear don't go together. Real love, not what the world calls love, but real love as is evidenced in I Corinthians 13 does this: It is patient, It is kind, It does not envy, It is not proud, It is not rude, It doesn't seek to gratify itself, It doesn't think evil, It does not rejoice in iniquity, but in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. It never fails. Real love, agape, unconditional love, never fails.

I can't be something I am not. I can't fake emotions that are not there. I can't pretend like I am not hurt or not angry. I can cover it up for awhile, but it is still there, and eventually, it will bubble up to the service and come out my mouth. Being quiet is a start. Putting a guard on my mouth and bridling my tongue-that is a start, but even deeper-I need to seek God for a heart change, because when I really put my relationships to the "love test," I find that very few people love me like that, and I love very few people with that kind of love. Unconditional love expresses itself in pure grace. I don't deserve the grace God extends to me. I don't deserve His undying love. I don't deserve to be sharing in the family of God. I don't deserve His precious gifts. Nobody does, but His Love Never Fails, and knowing that gives me great peace!