In the Passage of Your Heart…

…Is His Love Free to Follow?

Ruth A. Scott

“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”* (Colossians 3:14)

God has been showing me the importance of letting His love flow through me, and I thought I would share with you what He has shown me. The Lord has been so patient with me as He is teaching me, and I pray that this will be of help not only to you, but also to me.

Love is important in every way. If we don’t have love, then what we do will profit us nothing in the end. Everything may fail, but the love of God will never fail, so why not let the unfailing love of Christ flow through your life? (1 Corinthians 13:8). I would like to look at what God wants us, as His dear princesses, to do for Him with His love flowing through our lives, helping, comforting, and most of all loving those around us.

Endurance

Endurance is “the inward strength to withstand stress to accomplish God’s best.” See Galatians 6:9.

When we allow God’s love to flow through us, He also gives us the strength to endure stress, so that His will can be accomplished through us. When we are completely yielded to Christ and His will, we are letting Him rule our lives. When we don’t let Christ’s love flow through us and try to show His love in our own strength, by ourselves, without His help, we will not have the inward strength to withstand stress (or other trials the Lord allows to come along to test us). God wants to let His love flow through us, yet when we resist God’s will and don’t yield ourselves completely to Him, we cut off that flow of love and grace from heaven [thus finding ourselves unable to love others as we should]. We never will know how much we need His love flowing through us until we realize our helplessness and stop trying to do things in our own strength.

Gentleness

Gentleness is “showing personal care and concern in meeting the needs of others.” See 1 Thessalonians 2:7.

Gentleness is one of the most essential qualities needed in showing God’s love to those around us.

God has certainly been working in my life in this area of gentleness! Gentleness is surely a very important quality which God uses in great ways to show His love to others!

Contentment

Contentment is “realizing that God has provided everything I need for my present happiness.” See 1 Timothy 6:8.

The Lord tells us in His Word that if we have godliness with contentment, we have gained so much! “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”* (1 Timothy 6:6) When I become discontented, I become disagreeable, and people don’t like being around me. Isn’t that the very opposite of God’s love?

People are drawn to God’s love, but they do not want to be around the proud. When we think we can show God’s love in our own strength we become proud, and until we humble ourselves and realize that we can’t show God’s love unless He pours it into us, so that it can flow through our lives, we will be discontent. God is very pleased when His children are yielded to Him, and when we are content with what He does.

Humility

Humility is “recognizing that it is actually God and others who are responsible for the achievements in my life.”

If I become proud, it is always because “I” was able to do something. When we allow God’s love to flow through us, we are humbling ourselves, and being yielded to God, so that He can love others through us. When we are proud, we aren’t yielded to Him, because, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”* (James 4:6) The temptation to be proud will come, but we do not have to yield to the temptation. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”* (James 4:7)

God promises that we will always be able to get away from the temptations. He will not allow any temptation to come that we can’t overcome. “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that ye maybe able to bear it.”* (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Discretion

Discretion is “the ability to avoid words, actions, and attitudes which could result in undesirable consequences.” See Proverbs 22:3. Many times, we don’t think before we act. So very many times we wish we could go back and undo something we said or did. It is very important to think before we do something. God is very merciful and ready to forgive. We need to be sensitive to what He wants us to do. We need to think before we act, and if what we’re going to say or do is not what God would want, than we shouldn’t do it. I find myself sometimes doing that which does not show God’s love. I must stop, and instead allow God’s love to flow to those around me.

God has grace to overcome all these temptations!

Love

Love is “giving to others basic needs without having as my motive a personal reward.” See 1 Corinthians 13:3.

One who is yielded to God, allowing His love to flow through us, must be showing His love to others and what it is. If we claim to be yielded to God, letting His love flow freely, yet didn’t show His love, we’d be hers, dishonoring God’s holy name. Praise the Lord we can and must have His love and show His love!

Meekness

Meekness is “yielding my personal rights and expectations to God.” See Psalms 62:5.

God is teaching me to have a meek and quiet spirit, as He is also teaching me to always be yielded to Him, letting Him love others through me. Sometimes when something happens that I don’t like, I feel angry. Anger is the opposite of meekness, which comes from not yielding my rights and expectations to God. When I yield my all to God, I am content with what He does and do not get angry [for I am expecting nothing]. God says, “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”* (1 Peter 3:4)

Wisdom

Wisdom is “seeing and responding to life’s situations from God’s frame of reference.” See Proverbs 9:10.

When we respond to different situations, we should always handle them only after praying and/or looking in God’s Word for what He would have us do. Many times [we may be tempted] to gossip or say something about someone that is not nice. Whether it’s true or false, it’s not right to even think evil of that person. God wants us to pray for them, not judge or criticize. At one time, I would criticize and judge without taking any thought if what I was saying was pleasing to God. Praise the Lord I am not like that any more! He is still working in my life and molding me into what He wants me to be.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is “clearing the record of those who have wronged me and allowing God to love them through me.” See Ephesians 4:32.

Many times, I am tempted to be unwilling to forgive, and in turn [start to] get bitter toward those who have wronged me. Yet, God, in His mercy, has convicted me every time and has kept me from that disastrous attitude. Bitterness so effects those who have it. Those who are bitter, ruin their lives. One effect that comes by bitterness is that the (spiritual) bones rot (Proverbs 14:30). Another effect that comes from being bitter is that one becomes like the one they are bitter against. God is very gracious and always ready to forgive—we ought to be likewise. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”* (Ephesians 4:31-32)

I pray that we will all be yielded fully to Christ, letting His love flow through our lives. God bless each and all of you as you strive to be what He wants!