Love: A Gentle Reminder

When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

I Corinthians 13:11

It was time to head out for summer vacation. Nothing helps us work out our sanctification more than traveling together on a family vacation. The long car ride wore down every one of us, but we each reacted differently. My wife simply became more quiet. The children signaled their anxiousness by repeating that oft quoted interrogative, “When are we going to be there?”

I don’t handle long trips too well. I get touchy, moody, self-centered, hard to please, and easily offended. The petty banter between the kids especially exasperates me. I tend to make a mental scorecard and keep a record of the offenses. But most of all, I like to congratulate myself for enduring—the spilled soda, the whiny exchanges, the missed turn, the sticky shirt clinging to my sweaty back. I’m a genuine martyr, and I make sure everyone knows it.

After settling into our motel room that first night out on the road, my wife smiled warmly as she handed me the note she had scratched on the motel stationary. As I read her brief, scribbled out note, I finally realized what had worked on me all day long.

Based on the family mood, I knew something wasn’t right that day, but I hadn’t put my finger on it yet. My wife’s note gently pointed it out. I had once again strayed from what I already knew—this time 1 Corinthians 13. It’s not so much what we don’t know that makes us to stumble, but not applying what we already do know.

“Love is patient, love is kind.…It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). When I became a man, I tried to put childish ways behind me. But I forget. The old man in me rouses from his fidgety slumber, and I get petty. The opposite of love is to get petty. Love lets the little ones go; petty does not.

We must remember that sometimes we will not remember. We will occasionally find ourselves lost in a forest of pettiness (or some other sin), and without a clue to the direction out. Sometimes we will be so lost we won’t even know we are lost. That’s when we need a friend to scribble out a short note. These friends are ministers of the Gospel—they bring us good news. Do not continue along the petty line, and thank God for sending His saint your way.

The future promises full knowledge. In the meantime we need constant reminders. That’s why it’s good to have a friend to remind us, because the most overlooked lessons of Scripture are often the most familiar.

I SURRENDER

Dear God, when will I ever learn, when will I ever overcome my childish ways? Lord, I surrender my pettiness to You. Help me to grow up spiritually, knowing I will never be complete until I am with You. Enable me to overlook the little offenses. Remind me to be more tolerant of those around me who also forget familiar lessons. Amen.