The Lens of Love Part 1
One morning, I went to the local bakery for breakfast. Instead of having my muffin and coffee in the restaurant, I chose to sit in the car shaded by a tree. This particular parking lot was adjacent to a shopping plaza. As I sat sipping my coffee, relaxing and enjoying the morning, I noticed a woman placing the bags of items that she had purchased into the car in front of me. As I think about it now, I am not sure what my exact thought was. It could have been an observation that people are still spending money, even though they complain about the economy or something to that effect. Whatever the thought was, I was stopped before I could complete it. The Holy Spirit intervened and spoke to my heart, “What lens are you looking through? Look through the lens of love. Not through the lens of judgment and criticism.” My perspective changed immediately as I considered how God loves us all and is the only one who knows our hearts, inner thoughts, and intentions. This shows me that God is serious about correcting our propensity to criticize and judge others, no matter how slight it seems.
In Matthew 22:37-39, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In Matthew 7:1, when speaking about criticism and judgment, Jesus said, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”
Faultfinding and complaining lead to bitterness and strife. Dwelling on the negative rather than positive things about others is toxic. God wants us to concentrate on His goodness and how we can demonstrate His love to others. We can take a deeper dive into scripture to get a better idea of what love means and how being critical and judgmental is its antithesis.
We can start with 1 Corinthians 13, in which Paul defines love. Verse 4 says, “ Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.” That alone should stop us in our tracks as we evaluate ourselves and our kindness meter. Many times, we have trouble getting to the love part because our minds keep spinning with negative influences and thoughts about what others have said or done. Romans 12:2 gives us the answer. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul, in Galatians 5:22-23, shows that God helps us through His Spirit to grow in these characteristics. I like the NLT Bible version: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” I suggest reading 1 Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5 in their entirety.
The Epitome of Love – John 3:16-17
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.”
If you are not acquainted with the grace of God and the Spirit of love, acknowledge that Jesus died to rescue you from sin. Ask God to forgive you, and turn to Him and away from rebellion. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life and decide to follow him. God will fill you with His spirit of love and lead you to eternal life.