Ephesians 6:24 says, "Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love."

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I believe the most powerful identifying mark of a christian is how he or she loves. In 1st Peter 1, staring at the 5th verse the scripture urges us to add to our faith various qualities like moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, and kindness. All these build upon each other until you add love. 

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Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, your God. The second is to love your neighbor. 

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There are 4 main types of love:

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Storge - Affection or familial love that is based on familiarity.

               Often family members will have nothing in common but blood and we can see                that this love is easily corrupted. 

Eros - Romantic love, sexual attraction.

           It is easy to realize that this kind of love can be so very easily corrupted.

Philia - Friendship, a bonding over common interests and care for one another.

            This kind of love is strongly encouraged in the Bible. Paul wanted everyone to                 love one another in brotherly kindness yet friendships can grow distant and                     vanish as life circumstances change. 

Agape - The love that comes from God. 

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The greek word for love in the above verse is Agape. Agape is the type of love that comes from God. It is part of His character, who He is. It is. undeserving, unconditional, gracious and sacrificial. This kind of love seeks the best for the one you are loving. It is a choice, a deliberate striving for another's good. 

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In the verse above God offers grace to those who love Him in this manner. This means that we love God and want the same things that God wants. We seek to be in love with His will. And this is the only love that is incorruptible. 

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As parents we strive to love in the way that God does. We model this kind of love to our children. In fact, in John 13:35 Jesus tells us that the in world we know we are His disciples by how we love one another. Unfortunately, if we do not love, the world will also know that we are not of God. 

A very familiar passage in scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 13. This is commonly called the "love" chapter. It is read at weddings often. It gives us a good definition of the kind of love God offers and the kind of love He wants His people giving. 

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1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; It does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all thins, hopes all things, endures all things.."

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This is the translation of these scriptures from The Message. I think they give us a good idea of the love God wants us to have. Read these and see how you are doing. 

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Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn't want what it does not have.

Love doesn't strut or have a swelled head.

Love doesn't force itself on others.

Love is not me first. 

Love doesn't fly off the handle.

Love does not keep score of sins of others. 

Love doesn't take pleasure in when others suffer. 

Love takes pleasure in the truth. 

Love puts up with anything. 

Love trusts in God. 

Love always looks for the best. 

Love does not look back. 

Love keeps going to the end. 

Love never dies. 

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I am a perfectionist and have very strong opinions on how things should be done. I guess you can call me a control freak. My way is best, according to me. I am a planner and a detail oriented person. When all the kids were under my control I thrived on running everyone’s lives. My kids learned that if they wanted to keep mom happy they should just do things my way. Now that is not always a bad thing. For sure children need guidance and mom does know best most of the time but I soon realized that this kind of parenting can get out of hand. Love does not seek its own the scripture says. Was I truly loving in the best way I could by demanding my way all the time? I have come to understand that love gives freedom. It allows others to learn, grow and find out the best way for themselves with you there to guide.

God does not force us to follow Him but He stands always demonstrating that He wants only our good and is patient to wait for us to come to our senses.
It is a struggle for me still sometimes to not want to manage everything but God is showing me how to build by loving better each day.

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Lets build toward un incorruptible Love!!

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Study Questions:

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1. As you look over the list from 1 Corinthians 13 what areas do you struggle with most in loving your children?

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2. What areas are you really good at?

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3. Do you find that you love differently those in your family compared to others in your life?

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4. What steps can you make today to improve how you love your family?

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