With the celebration of Valentine's Day having just passed, I thought it would be a great time to talk a little about love! I have been married to my husband for 24 years, and in that time I have learned a few things about love. There have been times that I might not have been the easiest person to live with....cough....cough,but I am thankful for a man who loves me the way Christ loves the church. He chooses to see the best in me, even when I can't see it myself. He is my best friend and my biggest fan! Through our years of marriage I can say that things haven't always been fun or perfect, but despite the setbacks, surprises, and heartbreaks, we find our marriage growing stronger everyday. I know this is because of a God that teaches us how to love!
Just this month we were able to renew our vows. What a wonderful moment to stand eye to eye with the love of your life and renew the covenant you made with him! What a wonderful and emotional moment that was! I am so thankful for the past 24 years, and anxiously await what God has for us in the next 24+ years to come!
Our pastor has been preaching on love the past several weeks and I loved one of his slides so much last Sunday that I took a picture of it during the service.
I Corinthians 13 spells out what real love is, and what it isn't. As Pastor went through each one he expressed the importance to remember that not only are we to emulate this kind of love for each other, we should remember that this is the love that was on display for us through the life of Jesus. Our goal as a Christian should be to live authentically for Christ. "A counterfeit lifestyle of Christianity will always produce counterfeit results." ~ Pastor N.A. Bell
So how do we live authentically? How can we be assured that we are making an impact for Christ and not just impressing people with our own efforts?
"Authenticity is given value by it's creator." ~ Pastor N.A. Bell
We can be good people and do good things and the value of that is only as much as our efforts, or we can do things for Christ, birthed from a Godly vision and the value of that is as valuable as our Creator!
As I have said before, my word for the year is Intentionality. A big part of being intentional is being authentic. To be true to me, and the plans that God has for my life. To walk out this life day by day with the goal of impacting those around me for Christ.
If I never consult God for direction, my actions will have little to no value, and to be honest will have little to no impact. I want everything I do to have value in the Kingdom of God, so I must make sure that my actions are birthed from a Godly vision, and saturated with the love of God!
In Christ,
Barbette Yingst
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