Strength To Love

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Romans 15:5-6

Sometimes I think it was really easy for Saint Paul and some of the other authors of the New Testament to tell us to love one another because they were right there purified by Jesus, the man himself.  But that's just my first reaction when I'm struggling with this and read the scripture.  The truth is that they had it much worse than we ever could.  At that time, they didn't have all of the technology we have to just tune each other out like we do.  And even if they did, human nature is human nature.  We get angry.  We get upset.  We are stubborn and we want our way.  Rarely do we work to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person when we feel hurt, but it's what God wants us to do. 

So, how do we let go of pain and anger and do the will of God?  I'm trying to figure that one out myself, but I know that it's not my work to do.  It's God's.  Saint Paul says, "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another," meaning he knows it's not easy but he prays for us that God, who can make anything possible, give us that strength to carry on.  The strength is not in us; it comes to us from God and only in constantly depending on God can we work towards being that One Body of Christ that we are called to be.  In God's great wisdom, this keeps us humble and fully dependent on Him, which is how we should be to weather all of the storms of our lives.

Today's Prayer:
Father, I don't want to feel the things that I feel in my heart and I don't want to be the way that I am.  I want to do Your will and I want to love as you call me to love.  Humble me, Father, and give me the strength to see others as You see them.  In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.