"If I have not LOVE..."

 ¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never fails. ...
¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

(I Corinthians 13, NKJV)

I read a lot. I didn't go to college after high school, although I was awarded some pretty great scholarships and offered some amazing opportunities. I only regret that decision from time to time. I am who I am due to the journey I've been on--so I learn to live with gratefulness rather than regret. Although I didn't go to college, I've never stopped learning. I read constantly and try to learn from the best and brightest teachers. As God has called me to be a leader, I've focused a lot of my mental energy on learning how to lead well and how to succeed in leading others.

As I've studied the greatest leaders I can find, I've noticed that there are some leaders I (and many others) gravitate towards naturally, and others whom I lose interest in pretty quickly. It took me a while to recognize what made some so attractive and others less so. I've told my husband that there were some leaders I liked more before I could 'follow' them so easily now that we have the tool of social networking. ;-)

I think that the biggest difference is something really pretty simple: does that leader love the ones he/she has been called to lead? Does his/her love show in evident ways? Does that leader recognize that leaders truly are called to lead others, not lord over others? There's such a huge difference! 

We have all experienced a relationship with a leader who was more about his/her own ego rather than making a difference by loving well.

Lately, I find myself asking God to show me creative and intentional ways to love those whom He has graciously entrusted me to lead--i.e. to serve. After all, what draws us to God is His unfailing love, isn't it? I'm trusting the Holy Spirit to work this kind of love in me that I might love others well. Who really cares if a leader can lead well or speak well or delegate well if that leader never demonstrates LOVE well?

My Prayer: "Lord Jesus, if I am going to lead, may I love others and desire what is in their best interest over what would make me feel loved. May I trust in your unfailing love so much that I can pour out of that overflow into the lives of others, empowering them to soar to new heights, inspiring them to love well, too!"

The Real Me

Several years ago I taught through the book of Jeremiah in my Sunday School class. As always, the teacher always learns more than the student (and usually needs to!). One passage in particular stood out to me then, and has come to mind today. If you have about 2 minutes, read Jeremiah's words from the New Living Translation:

Jeremiah’s Complaint
From Jeremiah Chapter 20
7 O Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. 8 When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke. 9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! 10 I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you test those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For though I was poor and needy, he rescued me from my oppressors.

14 Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, “Good news—you have a son!” 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.


How many times do we go through these same emotions, from doom and despair and complaining, to praising and worshiping, and then right back to "woe is me!"?
I love that the people written about in Scripture were REAL people. Not one of them was perfect. In fact, most of them were pretty messed up, but one thing I notice about the ones God used most mightily: they were there authentic selves before God. Jeremiah wasn't out to impress God with how much faith he had. He went to God with who he really was. He brought all of who he was to all of who God is. Sometimes I find myself stressing, "Am I praying just the right way?" "What am I doing that is causing me to have so many things go wrong all at the same time?" And other thoughts like this. But then I go back to truth that says that because of His grace, I can approach God boldly in my time of need. (See Hebrews 4:14-16)


I don't have to pretend with Him or perform for Him~If I do, He'll see right through it anyways. I am thankful that I, like Jeremiah, can be a real person with real struggles, real complaints, and real faith. FAITH is all about the one whom you put your trust in; it's not a measure of how strong you are.


Thank you God that you see the real me, and you don't turn away when you do. Thank you that I can come to you just as I am.
And, thank you that you love me right where I am, and that you love me too much to leave me there.

If you've never heard Natalie Grant's song, "The Real Me," you can listen to it here I have it downloaded on my iPhone and I listen to it fairly often. It's a great reminder that God sees, and God loves, the REAL me. I hope it'll be an encouragement to you today as well!
Adapted from and Originally Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2008