The Goal.

“Let love be your highest goal.” 1 Cor. 14:1
In a few more days my wife and I will be celebrating on 9-year anniversary. You know when I think back to that moment I really knew Holli was the one, I can’t help but reminisce of our first date. Decked out in my very best, the truck freshly washed, and a little Lionel Ritchie playing on the radio…I was feeling good. A feeling that lasted for about 2.5 seconds, which was about the time it took for me to put it in reverse only to be stopped by a loud crashing sound. Looking into Holli’s face it took me even less time to realize what I had hit…Holli’s Brand-New Chevrolet Cavalier. Now Holli at this point had every right to curse and scream, to jump out of the truck and tell me she never wanted to see me again. Instead, Holli chose to to “make love her highest goal,” by showing grace, by showing mercy, by showing love when I was at my worst. In fact isn’t that when love is measured the most, it’s not when others are at their best but when others are at their worst. When God wanted to reveal the fullness of His love for us He could’ve waited for when we were at our best, His word to us could’ve been “When we finally got our acts together then Christ Jesus died for us.” Instead God chose to reveal the measure of His love for us while we were at our worst, or as the Bible puts it “while we were still sinners Christ Jesus died for us.” A single act that would change the course of your destiny and mine. I wonder how many of our relationships, marriages, friendships would change course, if in the coming days we really committed to let love be our highest goal? If when people were at their worst we responded by reflecting the best of God’s giftings…love. What type of lasting impact might we make in the life of the discontent waiter, neighbor, friend if we responded with generosity and encouragement? How would our marriage be different if we put as much energy in expressing love as the first word in our conversations as we do in making sure to get the last word in? What would our relationship with our kids be like if they heard those words “I love you” not simply when their at their best but especially when their at their worst?