Now i have to practice what i preached?...

For those who may be unfamiliar with who i am, God has given me the privilege of being a youth pastor. i'm certainly no one special, but that's how He's gifted me, the passion He's given me to pursue.
We've been doing a series on 1Corinthians 13: the famous "love chapter". i've found and shared with our youth that love is simply our choice to value others above ourselves. Love has little to do with our feelings but everything to do with our volition. We choose to value others.
Romans 13 lays out the mandate that we are to love everyone. In fact, Paul goes so far to say that we are indebted to others to love them. In short, we must love everyone. Case closed.
Not only must we love everyone, but Paul also explains that without that love our Christianity is absolutely useless. Isn't that the heart of the gospel message? God loved the world so much that He gave us Christ. Hence, a failure to love is a failure to communicate the gospel. The message is useless unless it is validated by our actions. Jesus points out in John 13:35 that the proof of our discipleship, our "following Christ" is the love we exhibit toward others.
In other words...love's important.
How do I show that love? What does it look like? That takes us into the heart of what i've been sharing in youth group. Love is patient. Love shows kindness. Love is not envious or boastful or proud or rude. Love doesn't demand it's own way or get irritated when it doesn't get its way. Tonight, however, hit extremely close to home. Love doesn't keep a record of being wronged.
The idea of "keep a record" is that of accounting. It's very much like a receipt that we are quite used to dealing with in the world of retail. It's keeping track. It's filling out a detailed list of all the things that are owed.
In this case, the merchandise being accounted for is the wrongs that people have committed against us.
Hence, the title of the post..."Now i have to practice what i preached..." i was okay with everything up until this point because i'm wired that way. i'm a very easy going person, very patience, not easily irritated, not demanding, very sensitive to others feelings. i don't have to have my own way. i can go along with what others are doing. Good enough, right... Not according to God.
i no longer (not that i ever did in the first place) have the right to hold grudges. i can't hold anything over someone else's head anymore until they ask my forgiveness or somehow satiate my inner need for some type of olive branch. i can't keep track of how people have hurt me. i have to let it go...or...wait...i GET to let it go.
i don't have to experience the gut wrenching poison of bitterness. i don't have to keep a list of what each person has done to me and keep them in my personal prison until they've "done their time." i don't have to be offended anymore and let others ruin the day that God created for me to rejoice and be glad in. i'm FREE!!!
What about you? Is this as tough to swallow for you as it it me? i know...this bitter (insert the most vile tasting medicine you can think of, for me it's probably robitussin or vicks 44, the complete opposite of grape dimetapp) called forgiveness is difficult to swallow, but once you do this amazing elixir soothes and completely heals the ulcers of bitterness and unforgiveness. No more pain. No more sleeplessness. No more strain. No more eating away at the very core of who you are. You can be free.
Just think of how much you've been forgiven (an infinite sin debt you could never repay). All of a sudden, your perspective completely changes. The $20 your buddy owes you doesn't really matter when you realize your debt of untold millions that's been erased. Now you're free to love. Pretty "revolutionary", huh.
i haven't arrived yet, but i'm on my way. What about you? Thanks for reading.