day 3 {love today}

*i know this is a day behind...forgive me. i left home at 9 yesterday morning and didn't get home till 930 at night. so you lucky ducks will get two posts today!*

Ephesians 4:2

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

i've always wondered how to be humble and confident all at the same time, and then how to be gentle and yet still stick up for what i believe in. how do i maintain a confidence about my looks, but at the same time not walk around yelling: hey, look how hot i am (because lets be honest we all have really great hair days)? and how on earth am i supposed to kindly and gently disagree with someone on facebook when they post a link with something about God or politics that i don't agree with, and not just type: you're dumb?
if there's one thing that i do know...Jesus didn't walk around yelling: hey, look how hot i am! and he most certainly didn't yell at people: hey you opinion suck and you're dumb.

so i ask, how do you be humble and gentle?

i love this verse because i feel like paul isn't just telling me to be humble and gently, but he's telling me how to do it. it's like he knew i'd read it and shout out but how!?

be patient, bearing with one another in love.

oh. patient love.

thanks paul.

if i can be honest, i'm better at being the tough girl. the one who is anything but passive, the one who looks like she's really smart (even if i'm not), the one who looks like she's got it all together. but sadly, that isn't what Jesus looked like.

and here i'll add that little saying we all wear on our wrist: what would Jesus do?

Jesus was a very patient man (except that one time in the temple with the tables but that's for another time). this made me think of the woman in john 8.

go read john 8.

Jesus finds the teachers of the law and the Pharisees all gathered around a woman.

"Teacher," they said to Him, "This woman was caught in the act of adultery. the law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?"

have you ever been in a conversation when the other person is purposely trying to make you say the wrong thing.

or, have you been like the Pharisees and been the one asking those questions just so you can call someone out on being wrong, and revel in how awesome and right you are?

like the Pharisees...ouch.



Jesus answers with the patience and love that i need to answer with most times. He doesn't get all red in the face and scream back at them. He knows that this is a time for Him to teach, and not yell back at them for the level of hypocrisy that was going on.

so He bends down and draws into the ground:

"All right, but let the one who has never sinned be the first to throw a stone!" (verse 7...there really is an exclamation mark in the bible which means Jesus wasn't playing around).

"When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest until Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman" (verse 9).

Jesus was patient with the Pharisees and showed the woman more love than she had ever experienced in her life.

Jesus was humble and patient with the woman who had committed so much sin.

because He loved her.

i think the key to being humble and gentle is love. are you with me on this one. love.

Jesus didn't, like i would have, stand there screaming at the Pharisees who were trying to not only capture Him, but condemn a woman to death, He gently reminded them that no one was perfect.

what? i'm not perfect?

no friend, despite how awesome we might be at times we have a lot of flaws. and that's one list i do not want to write down.

but Jesus loves us.

and so we need to show that love to others no matter what the situation is, or how hard it might be.

challenge: be loving all day. i'm heading into work, so this is something i might just put on a sticky note and attach to my forehead? but seriously. can you imagine if daily we responded like Christ did in this story? the world wouldn't have a choice but to join us in His love.

so go on...love today.

{via}