Zip It- Zip It Good!

I know, I know... "where have you been?" Well, there has just been so much going on lately, that I had to force myself to just zip my mouth and keep quiet for a while. I had to have time to process and pray so that I didn't just spout out nastiness for all of the world to see. 

I would like to clarify a few things though; there have been a couple of questions/issues that do need answering. 

1. My post, No Pictures, Please was posted because my children made a request, and I had a choice to ignore or listen to them. There is no way, that I know of, to remove all of the pictures I have ever taken from the internet world. My children have seen the pictures that have been previously posted. Their request was for future posts, and I have worked diligently to respect their requests. And request, on their behalf, that family and friends do so as well. It's just common courtesy. 

2. I am definitely pro-freedom of speech! Obviously, I have a public blog. I love and welcome your comments and encouragement and opinions. However, I will not allow comments that incite drama in any way. Please do not use my blog to "make a point" towards someone else. We are to show love as Christ loved, and I hope by letting you into my little world, I am showing you love in my way.

Okay, enough with the administrator in me... :) 

Last Sunday evening, mine and Bill's bible study was called "The Source of Love." We were reading through Song of Songs 2:1-13. As I said, there were a few situations that have been brought to my attention in the last couple of weeks, and a couple of the take away questions really caught me with my mouth open, yet speechless for a bit.

The last question was this: 

In what ways can you show love to those who seem unlovable?

Think about it, God loves us in two ways; sacrificially and unconditionally. 

Sacrificially- It cost Him something. It cost Him the Son. It cost Christ His very life. It costs an unimaginable price, one we could never repay. One He doesn't require us to repay. A price He paid freely, so that we might be saved. What is it costing us to love others? Pride? Time? Forgiveness? 

Unconditionally- the very definition gives me chills; not limited in any way, complete and absolute. There are no conditions for God's love. He loved us and knew us before we were even conceived (Jeremiah 1:5). He died on the cross for them, for you, for me, for our kids, for our future grandkids-everyone! Not just some people, not just the good ones, not just the ones who do good things-everyone. He died and took on the sins of the world for all of us, in hopes that we would only love and accept Him. He died, knowing we would need His help, that we would need Him to save us. People said and did horrific things, and still do to this day; and guess what- He still loved them and loves us. How can we then put conditions on the folks we love? If you do this, then I'll love you. If you behave this way- I can't love you. If you believe this- you're unlovable. If you're not like me- just forget it. Unconditional- no conditions, complete and absolute.

Photo from Shutterstock

My answer to that devotional question was simply this- ZIP IT! 

And whadaya know; God reinforced that the next morning in my personal study time. He has a great way of driving stuff home with us. This is what I posted to FB Monday (the next day) morning:

My verse for the week: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14.  Yikes! I will admit, this is a tough one y'all. Sometimes I have a downright nasty mouth. I say things off the cuff, and blurt out stuff that could never be taken back. I am judgemental with my thoughts, and words, sometimes. But you know what, God calls us out on things we know we shouldn't be doing or saying, or even thinking. We get the gift of that still, small voice that says, "My beloved, why are you doing that? Is that loving? Is that kind?" And we get the chance to say, "You know what God, you're right. I apologize for not showing love. Help me show love better." And He will! We all struggle and all fall short, but He can and will redeem us!

My point is this; there will always be a group or type of people that we feel are unlovable, people that we are not partial to, maybe even people we have previously "written off", we should still love them with the 'affection of Christ Jesus' as Paul says in Philippians 1:8. And if you think you can't love someone because of your mouth, stop and pray about it. God will show us where we need work, and He will give us the direction in which we need to go.

He loves us so. Be blessed my loves.