Love #8....

Agape, Godly love...

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. it is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!"

Eighth, love believes the best about people; it "thinketh no evil" (KJV), "does not keep a record of wrongs" (HCSB). In other words, love overlooks insult or wrong (Proverbs 17:9; 19:11; Ephesians 5:11).
This is definitely God's love that does this!
I'm not sure about you but it's very difficult for me to overlook an insult or a wrong doing that has been made toward myself or even a family member. We need God to step into these situations and help us to love this way. Only by His grace and mercy will we be able to overcome ourselves and love in an agape way.
God love challenge #8, our final challenge.....
Pray that God can help you to believe the very best in everyone, no matter what they have said or done to you. This is most difficult of all, in my opinion. Especially when others continue to insult you. God's word says that "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers." Matthew 5:11 (NLT). We have to show love, it's not an option.

I pray that if anyone has been reading these past entries on love that you have taken away something that is helpful. Loving in the midst of controversy isn't easy, especially when division comes and lack of forgiveness. I truly believe that we can forgive when we can truly love someone regardless of how they treat us.