Deliberate Choices

According to the Nelson Study Bible agape love is based on
 "the deliberate choice of the one who loves rather than the worthiness of the one who is loved."

It seems to me that the Lord wants every choice I make to be deliberate. He wants me to think, act, speak . . . love . . .deliberately.

That's hard. The world all around says do what feels good, don't over-think it, follow your heart. But sometimes my mind and heart feel like doing or saying something unloving. So those ideas don't work in agape-land!

The ability to make deliberate choices requires deliberate preparation.

 My prayer and goal for 2012 is to grow in choosing to love others as my Lord has loved me----

deliberately.

I Am the Sparrow

Thrown from my ship

I cannot sail

The water's dark

The sun is veiled

The sea is angry, cruel and deep

The shore beyond is far too steep.

I grasp the slippery rope of fear

That pulls me down

But then I hear

The voice that calmed the stormy seas

Echoes round

And touches me

Reminding me, though I'd forgot,

I am the sparrow

That He sought.

___

Now standing on the sun-washed shore

I can hear Him

Speak once more

With broken wings I now can fly

The greater heights

I dared not try

And to this day I must be brought

For I am the sparrow

That He sought.

Though I've not exhausted the subject, I feel I have contemplated  trust fully for now. It has been a life-changing, life-saving study, and I am better for it--and grateful.

Trust has also lead me to my next subject:

 love

The hard, sometimes seemingly impossible, agape love.

The kind that requires a lot of trust.

Thanks for reading.