Attributes of Love by MOPS InternationalSample

Love Does Not Insist

One afternoon a woman and her grandchildren sat at the kitchen table playing cards. The woman’s husband had been outside doing chores and walked in for a glass of water. The woman said, “Why don’t you pull up a chair and join us?”

“No, thank you, dear,” he said. “I’m fine right here. ”She replied, “Really, you should sit down for a while. ”He responded, “I’m just fine.”

“Honey, I insist you sit down and rest,” she said firmly. “I don’t want to sit down. Why don’t you stand up?” he countered.

The grandchildren roared with laughed at the argument. Although their grandma was simply trying to show love to their grandpa by insisting that he rest, what it really did was get on his nerves! When we insist on our way, the message of love can be lost.

In Mark 10:43-45, Jesus said that truly loving others is so contrary to the ways of the world. Jesus did not come to earth insisting on rubbing shoulders with the rich or the noble. Nor did He insist that others recognize His position and treat Him like royalty (although He deserved that). Instead, Jesus chose humility and serving others. He chose the way of love.

To get ahead, the world tells us to demand our own way, putting our own needs first. It tells us that anyone who disagrees with us isn’t important or worth being heard. The world tells us to disassociate with anyone who believes differently. The world encourages us to choose the way of self and insist on our own way.

We can insist on treating others with kindness and respect, no matter who it is we engage with.

We can insist on listening to others and learning from them.

We can insist on valuing each other, despite our differences.

We can insist on serving others rather than demanding to be served.

Consider this:

We give our relationships room to flourish when we surrender the right to insist that things be done our own way or that our everyone aligns with our opinions. What expectations or demands do you need to release in order for love to truly grow?