“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” – 1 Corinthians 1:10
God works in amazing ways.
This week’s love dare (Dare 12) in The Love Dare book is titled, "Love lets the other win." On Sunday my church kicked off a study on 1 Corinthians. When I read Chapter 1 in my own study time, the verse from 1 Corinthians 1:10 jumped off the page at me. It sounded rather similar to the message given in Dare 12.
I can only describe the timing of the two readings as God’s perfect timing.
Neither suggested there are not things worth standing up for and protecting. The message is, and always is, to let love guide our behavior. And love will only guide our behavior when Christ comes first in our life, for He is love.
As I wrote in my post for Dare 11 (Love cherishes), when we say “I do” to our spouse we became one. Disagreements will come in a marriage. But when we mistreat our spouse, we also mistreat ourselves. Therefore, we need to let His love lead us toward the “perfect unity in mind and thought” which Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 1:10.
In the Life Application Bible study notes for 1 Corinthians 1:10 it says to “Focus on your coach, Jesus Christ, and the purpose he has for you. Strive for harmony.”
Before we allow feelings to lead our behavior, we breathe in and breathe out and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us. I know, easier said than done at times. I'm preaching to myself too.
My pastor titled the sermon series on 1 Corinthians, “Growing Pains.” It sounds more and more appropriate to me. Those two words describe a marriage well, don't you think? There are pains but God uses them to bring growth.
The writers of The Love Dare describe how we are to have an attitude of willingness toward our spouse. We talked about willingness in Dare 2 (Love is kind).
“It’s an attitude and spirit of cooperation that should permeate our conversations. It’s like a palm tree by the ocean that endures the greatest winds because it knows how to gracefully bend” (pg. 57).
The greatest example of willingness is in Jesus Christ. He willingly endured the cross for our sins.
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).
Instead of being stubborn when disagreements come to get our way, let’s be like a palm tree by the ocean. The love dare . . . let’s be willing to bend by demonstrating love to our spouse. “Surrendering a battle may actually be the best way to greater victory” (pg. 58).
p.s. I normally spend significantly more time preparing my posts but time has been limited. I'm praying my message came across as intended and grammatical errors are limited. Thank you for your grace.
p.s.s. My son and his wife are now in town. If you are able to visit the person who links up before and after you to help make sure everyone is visited it would be greatly appreciated. I hope to still make some rounds but time online will be limited.
Dare #1: Love is patient
Dare #2: Love is kind
Dare #3: Love is not selfish
Dare #4: Love is thoughtful
Dare #5: Love is not rude
Dare #6: Love is not irritable
Dare #7: Love believes the best
Dare #8: Love is not jealous
Dare #9: Love makes good impressions
Dare #10: Love is unconditional
Dare #11: Love cherishes
Dare #12: Love lets the other win
Next week: Love fights fair
Beautiful post, as always! I wanted to say that I am loving the new design of this site!!! Absolutely gorgeous! And I'm SO excited to see share buttons! Woo Hoo!! :) Love you!!! Enjoy that family time! Heart Hugs, Shelly <3
ReplyDeleteThank you, sweet friend. Love you. I hope the share buttons worked as I'm still figuring that out. <3
DeleteLove where you wrote, "Before we allow feelings to lead our behavior, we breathe in and breathe out and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us." Oh how true this is for me! I tell this to myself ALL the time, but when put on the spot, it is not always easy! Ha! I continue to trust God to help me use patience and love in my thoughts and speech in every difficult situation.
ReplyDeleteLoved the pictures of your Dad & Mom's anniversary; what a lovely family you have Beth!
Enjoy your week with your son!
Hugs and love,
Denise
You are right, it's not always easy. I'm so grateful for His patience with us. Thank you for your kind words, Denise. Much love. xoxo
DeleteSo glad you're getting to spend time with family! That always trumps online time in my book. May it be a time of blessings for you. :)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, LeeAnn. Blessings too you. xoxo
DeleteBeth, you shared wonderfully! I have often felt it takes more strength to surrender than to be stubborn. To bend the will takes both courage & strength, a much harder combination to attain. But it is in the surrender we find the victory and the beauty in relationship. May you have a blessed visit with your family! Much love!!!
ReplyDelete"But it is in the surrender we find the victory and the beauty in relationship." <<< Amen! Praying for that courage and strength to bend. Thanks for sharing, Joanne. Much love. xoxo
DeleteBeautiful words from a beautiful heart. Blessings to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. I am so glad you joined us today. Blessings.
DeleteYes, the pains are often, but they often bring growth. Thank you for these words today, Beth! I am constantly growing through self-inflicted pains in my marriage. ;) LOVE your new look here! :D Enjoy your son and daughter-in-law…xoxo, Meredith
ReplyDeleteThank you, Meredith. I appreciate you!! <3
DeleteBeautiful Beth! Your series is such a wonderful way to remind all who God is and His role as the center of our relationships. Being reminded of this truth is so necessary for all of us. Enjoy your time with your son and his wife. Soak in the joy received from time with family. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. Your kind words are a blessing to me. And I too hope we can sit on a bench together one day and get to know each other better. Grateful we have connected in this lovely blogging world. Blessings. xoxo
DeleteWhen we mistreat our spouse, we mistreat ourselves....Yes! Seems the message of unity is the message of the Spirit today! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining in on the linkup, Ginger. I'm so glad you have become a part of this writing community. Blessings.
Deleteenjoy your family, friend! we'll all be hanging out here and there when you return ...
ReplyDelete;-}
Thank you, sweet friend. <3
DeleteLove that verse from I Corinthians in the graphic, and your words here truly encouraged me. Bless you xo
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyli. Blessings to you too. xoxo
Delete"Growing Pains" is very descriptive of marriage- I completely agree. I've been married almost 15 years and we are still growing together, with some definite pains mixed in :). This is a wonderful reminder of showing our spouses love and respect through it all. Thank you Beth for your words and inspiring linkup. I love the 3 word wednesday concept- this is my first time joining in. I hope you have a wonderful visit with your son and daughter-in-law!
ReplyDeleteCandace, it was so wonderful to have you join in for the linkup. I hope we see you again in future. Thank you for your kind words. Blessings.
DeleteEnjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janet. It's so good to see you again. :) Blessings.
Delete"But when we mistreat our spouse, we also mistreat ourselves."
ReplyDeleteThis really jumped out at me today.
Love your wise words today, Beth.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Blessings to you. xoxo
DeleteLike Elizabeth in the words above, " When we mistreat our spouse, we mistreat ourselves" really jumped out at me. You know, it is parallel to when we bless our spouse, we also bless ourselves. Hmm... it make it look a whole lot differently.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sweet Beth. Always blessed when I spend time here.
Love,
Dawn
Hi Beth! When we mistreat our spouse, we mistreat ourselves...that line alone was worth the reading of the post. Beautiful. Sounds like Elizabeth and I are on the same page here!
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a great time with family, and enjoying some love and hugs :)
Ceil
God's message, through you, came out beautifully, Beth! I love the analogy of the palm tree. We were in Galveston earlier this week and saw a lot of them! Adding another "visual" lesson to my list, I will look at them differently now. Have a blessed weekend with your family!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your time with your son and his wife ♥ I look forward to (hopefully one day soon?!) being in a relationship and revisiting your Love Dare posts and experiences and reflecting on them in a new way. For now, though, I really identified with what you said about God's timing and the relationship between the two messages - I often notice the same thing with my Daily Devotional, and it really encourages me to focus on the given message in a more nuanced way. Hope you have a great weekend! xo ♥
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful time with your family! Loved reading this post and being reminded how very special this marriage bond is. As always you write with such grace that is truly a gift. Loved this quote:“It’s an attitude and spirit of cooperation that should permeate our conversations. It’s like a palm tree by the ocean that endures the greatest winds because it knows how to gracefully bend” The words, "spirit of cooperation" are going to stick with me. I am honored to be featured for # Word Wed. I didn't know you did that--love how you've made it simple. Participating with your link up has been my intro into a regular link up and I am so enjoying the wonderful posts that I have read in this link. Thanks again:)
ReplyDelete