My View of People
July 8, 2021
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
One of the Scriptures that we hung on the wall by the table where we ate as the children grew up said, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). We explained numerous times to them and reminded ourselves that deep love changes the way you look at others. You won’t make issues out of things that would really bother you if you didn’t love them so much. That meant it was most important that deep love was the thing that characterized our family if we were going to stick together.
Young new love can show you how this works. A girl can find a rather nondescript 19-year-old and fall for him so hard, and her parents don’t understand how he is the man of her dreams. Nothing about him is a problem. She sees him through starry eyes of love. None of the issues he has and none of the lacks he exhibits bother her. Three kids and lots of struggles later she may have allowed the light of love in her heart to dim, and she no longer sees him that way. Just hearing the smack of his lips and seeing the way he chews gum can cause her blood to boil now. It’s a capital offense. Because her love level is low, everything has changed.
When our view of Jesus gives us great hope, our view of people changes. We are able to see each one as worthy of love and forgiveness. We are able to let love cover flaws because we remember how He has loved and forgiven us. Admittedly, the “Love Chapter,” as 1 Corinthians 13 is called, is frequently seen as unrealistic and unachievable. But that’s an indication that our view of Jesus is inadequate, and we aren’t realizing the power that is ours through Him. When we have that great hope and life-changing view of Jesus, we see people through His eyes and are able to love as He does. We are patient and kind. Jealousy, boasting, and one-upping is gone. Pride and rudeness are not part of the equation either. Irritability disappears, and no one is keeping score. We resist injustice and always fight for truth. This kind of love never gives up, it keeps the faith, remains hopeful, and endures cheerfully through every situation. What relationship wouldn’t improve with love like that consistently displayed? The best relationships you know have it.
If the look of love is in your eyes, the actions of love and the words of love will be in all you do and say. It comes from Jesus.
- Lord Jesus, the world can only be changed by those who see others through Your eyes. May I be one of those. Amen.