My 13-year-old son is quite the
musician. He's a guitarist, a trombonist and a drummer. A drummer…who doesn't
necessarily need a drum. He has a drum set, but his drumming certainly isn't
contained to that drum. The table is his drum. The sofa is his drum. The wall?
Drum. The desk, the chair, his sister? Drum, drum, drum. He was baking cookies
with me last week and even the cookie sheet was a drum. Okay, actually that was
more of a cymbal--but there was still definite drummage.
Daniel drums without even knowing he's drumming. It's
the percussion that never ends. The other day I couldn't stand it any more. My
left eye was twitching--on the beat. I said, "Daniel! Could you PLEASE stop
percussing for five minutes?"
"Sure," he said without missing a beat (as it were).
Then he looked at his watch.
I wonder how many things I do without thinking. No
doubt there are a gajillion annoying habits I'm not aware of that are causing
eyes to twitch left and right.
Oh, that the Lord would grow me to the place where
there are more things I do without thinking that bless than things I do without
thinking that annoy. In 1 Corinthians 12:31, Paul says, "But now let me show you
a way of life that is best of all." Then he begins what we call the "love
chapter." Love should be a way of life for those of us who follow Christ. Loving
others selflessly should happen as naturally and rhythmically as those tap, tap,
taps on the desk--loving almost without having to think about it.
Verses 4-7 in 1 Corinthians 13 tell us what that kind
of love looks like: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful
or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it
keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but
rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is
always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance" (NLT).
How important is our sacrificial love for others to
our Heavenly Father? We're told in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that we could speak every
language on earth--we could even speak the language of angels. But if we don't
love others, even Angel-eese sounds like a bunch of annoying noise. As a matter
of fact, it says that without love, even if I'm speaking the sweetest language
there is, "I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." The last thing I
want to do is cause a twitch in the eye of the God I love.
I want to love others because I do love him. And I
want to love consistently, steadily--without missing a beat.
Rhonda Rhea rrhea@juno.com
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