Following Jesus / Serving Churches
What is it about love?
You think you can't love a person any more.
And then you do.
They do something.
They say something.
A good something.
Even a heartbreaking something.
And then you love them more.
Or maybe.
You think something.
You feel something.
Something only within you.
And then you love them more.
What is it about love?
I have a guess.
Love knows no limits.
Your words can hurt others.
Your words can hurt you too.
I’ll never forget it. I was a newly minted teenager. Full of myself. Angry at my little sister. I’d done something hurtful to her in my anger. She told Mom. I got in trouble. Then, in the self-serving righteous indignation that my sister was really wrong & I was really right, I got even angrier. In my anger, I recall making a conscious choice. A choice I’d never made before but knew I’d act on now to express the depth of the mistreatment I felt I was suffering. I cursed. To my mother.
I don’t remember much that happened after that. Mom’s eyes on fire. Her hands like lightning. Jerked up her jerk son. Yanked my mouth opened. And filled it with a pump squirt of LOC. Soap.
Amway’s LOC (Liquid Organic Cleaner) was kept under our kitchen sink since it had many household uses. “Multi-Purpose Cleaner” the label says. “Washing out teen boy potty mouth,” was just one of the many uses my Mom had now discovered.
I learned a lesson that day. Not the apparent, “Don’t be dumb enough to curse in front of your God-fearing Mama.” I had calculated the use of that curse word to hurt others, but that word ended up hurting me. That was the real lesson.
Your words can hurt others.
Your words can hurt you too.
There is enough hurt in the world, don’t you agree? Why don’t we make a decision - actually many, daily decisions - to use our words to help instead of hurt? Blessing instead of cursing? Praying instead of complaining?
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what help, each word is a gift. Ephesians 4:29 (MSG)
PRN
Initials? Someone's, I am sure.
Acronym? Yes.
What does it mean, then?
Does it mean, "Pretty Registered Nurse"? No. I have one at my house. But, no, that is not what it means.
How about, "Purple Registered Nurse"? Some wear purple scrubs you know. Nice try, but it has nothing to do with Registered Nurses no matter the "P" that come first.
PRN is an acronym for the Latin phrase "Pro re nata."
It literally means "in the circumstances" & is commonly translated "as needed." Medical professionals - like the pretty Registered Nurse I am married to - use it most often for medications to be taken or applied as needed.
It's nice to have the meds you need available PRN, but I wonder, how many of us only relate to God PRN?
You do not meet John Mark.
You experience him.
He's the silly one. On the left.
My son. Almost five.
Wants a daily wrestle with Dad.
Hugs his siblings hard enough to make 'em beg.
Too raucous for his Mama sometimes. I get the earful.
The boy is rough as a corncob.
Guaranteed 100% cob action.
He plays hard.
But.
He loves hard too.
The tenderest lionheart you'd ever meet.
And in those moments he says things that make you love him even more.
Said to his Mama recently, "Sometimes I love you too much, Mama. God loves me even more than that. Right?"
"Yes, God loves you even more than that," she replied.
I love my boy. My love can't compare however.
God loves me - and you - more.
I pray you know that love & feel it right now. If not, drop me a note. Let me pray for you. Let me tell you how. God loves you.
More than too much.
Our toaster - I don't know about yours - has an interesting feature.
When it's not plugged in & you put in a slice of bread & push down the handle, it flops the bread right back atcha.
Unplugged, our toaster is all flop & no pop.
It won't toast without the power.
It won't even keep slices down.
Are you living with all flop & no pop?
What's your power supply?
Jesus declared, "All authority has been given to me," in Matthew 28:18. Authority is the power to act. He's got all of it. He'll use it for you. If you seek him.
Are you plugged in to Jesus?
And, leave a comment below, did you go try the flop/pop thing out on your toaster? I wanna know.