"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
1Corinthians 13:4-7
Maybe it's like riding a bike. Once you drive in the Middle East you never forget how. However, the intensity of the experience...fingers tightly gripping the steering wheel, teeth grinding, perspiring uncontrollably, flashes of anger...maybe you forget some of that. So, when we walked out of the airport and I jumped into the driver's seat it was a cultural reacclimatization for sure.
It's not that there aren't rules on the road it's that they are interpreted individually. It's not that there aren't lines on the road it's just that they are merely there for decoration. Suffice it to say, I need to write the verse above on an index card and superglue it to the dash of the van.
It's not that there aren't rules on the road it's that they are interpreted individually. It's not that there aren't lines on the road it's just that they are merely there for decoration. Suffice it to say, I need to write the verse above on an index card and superglue it to the dash of the van.
So, today's devotion from Our Daily Bread really resonated with me:
Traffic was bad and everyone was cranky on that hot afternoon. I noticed a car with two young men waiting to enter traffic from a fast-food restaurant driveway. I thought it was nice when the driver ahead of me let them in
God help us to live 1 Corinthians 13 here AND may God's grace be seen in us "even when our kind acts go unappreciated.But when the “nice” driver ahead of me didn’t get a nod or even a thank you wave, he turned ugly. First he rolled down his window and shouted at the driver he had let in. Then he gunned his engine and raced forward as if to ram into his car, honking and yelling as he continued to vent his anger.
Who was “more wrong”? Did the young driver’s ingratitude justify the “nice” driver’s angry response? Was he owed a thank you?
Certainly the 10 lepers Jesus healed owed gratitude to Him. How could only one return to say thank you? I’m struck by Jesus’ response: “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:18). If the King of Kings can get only a 1 in 10 response of thanks, how can we expect more from others? Better to do our deeds to honor God and serve others than to do them to collect gratitude. May the grace of God be seen in us even when our kind acts go unappreciated.
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