Loving Sandpaper People // 1 Corinthians 13:4
Today’s verse comes from 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the love chapter. It is a favorite section of mine as it describes love as God’s very nature. I read the larger passage on Saturday as I officiated the wedding for a precious young couple after using it in their premarital work. We explored together how the Bible’s description of love provides goals for how we are to relate to others. The characteristics in verse 4 point to love as patience, kindness, contentment (as opposed to envy), modesty (as opposed to boastfulness), and humility (as opposed to arrogance).
Do these words describe the way you experience love? How about the way you express love to others? I am sure there are times yes, others no, and probably quite a few times when we cycle between the two. Our inability to love imperfectly should never deter us from striving for perfection in love. Think about this in terms of your motivation in relationships. If you strive to love like God loves, then even when you goof up — and you invariably will — perfect love helps you confess your mistakes and seek reconciliation to make it right. This is a prime reason why 1 John tells us that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
The other thing about striving to love perfectly helps give us the necessary confidence to go the extra mile in our relationships. Jesus taught about this in the Sermon the Mount. What’s unique, though, is the section in Matthew 5:38-42 teaches about how to deal with what I call, sandpaper people…you know, those who rub you the wrong way. This really brings a challenge to how we think about striving for a perfect love, doesn’t it? God isn’t just interested in how you love the loveable people in your life; no, God also wants you to strive to love your sandpaper people. When you take that approach, you’ll discover that Jesus, the carpenter’s son, goes to work on you, too. He smooths the rough edges and polishes your dull spots until they shine with a heavenly luster.
I hope this approach gives you a reason to feel challenged today. I am sure you will probably encounter at least one sandpaper person today. Let your love for everyone be indicative of who you are, but also Whose you are! Trust the Lord to do a holy work in you as you love like God loves.
