For the next few days we will go a little deeper with the first Fruit of the Spirit. Love is mentioned over 300 times (131 in the Old Testament and 179 in the New Testament KJV) so it would be very lengthy to try to examine all of them during Lent. I have instead chosen 7 verses to share about love for Days 2-8.
Each day during this season of Lent, I will post one verse and pray it with you. Consider saying the verse in your quiet time and praying it also. You may use the same prayer or try your own. Each day until Easter (except Sundays) there will be a new post that contains: a verse, a small reflection, a prayer using the Scripture and an image. Feel free to share the images because I made them with the Bible Lens app and took all the pictures. What a creative God we serve!
Day 2
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 English Standard Version (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
What if we applied only the first sentence in our classrooms? Just being reminded of the need to be patient and kind is huge. Patience is not natural but it is a fruit. Kindness is probably more tangible because we can teach the students kindness. They LOVE participating in a "Random Acts of Kindness" initiative. I love how Paul also explains what love is NOT! It is not arrogant or rude, nor insists on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful nor rejoices at wrongdoing. Oh my, it is much easier to NOT love than to love (without the Lord, of course). May God grant you the supernatural ability to be like Him and display LOVE to your students and colleagues. Over 3 years ago, I wrote a blog post, "Love in the Classroom" if you care to check it out it may help with some ideas.
Dear Lord,
Help us! We want to love. We want to be like You, but we fall so short. Lord, why? It is the desire of our hearts to be patient and kind and to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things. You are the Waymaker Who can show us the way. You are the Chainbreaker that can break the chains of our stony hearts. You are the Paintaker, Who can remove all pain when we loved deeply and lost. Oh Lord, bless us with a loving heart towards those we see each day. Open our hearts wide for Your kind of love. It is in great expectation that we ask in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen.
Prayerfully yours,
K
Karen C. Seddon
CEAI - Christian Educators Assoc. Int.
State Director for Florida
407.892.5651
....an unqualified recipient of His unconditional love
2 Timothy 3:16 -17- All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
No comments:
Post a Comment