The Love Scale
By Sharon Musgrove
“Love is patient and kind; love does
not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own
way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but
rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV
Accepting
Jesus as Lord of our life is the beginning of living as children of Love. His forgiveness wipes clean our slate of
sins, giving us the opportunity to turn from habitual bad behavior to learning
what it means to be love. Like a baby
learning to walk, new habits are hard to create, and we fall down time and
again. How do we know if progress is
being made toward living this new life when we keep messing up? Perhaps we could use a tool of measurement -
a Love Scale.
A mentor introduced me to a
Christ-based relapse prevention curriculum, years ago when I was volunteering
in a residential recovery program for women.
This “Genesis Process” walked its students through identifying why they
were addicted to substances or self-harming actions and what it would take to
walk away, free from that lifestyle. It
was possible but it required intentional daily work.
Lives were changed through that process
and hearts were healed. Every person who
put effort into learning about God, and their relationship to Him, was blessed
by improvement in their problems. As 2
Corinthians 5: 17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation.” (ESV). Women entered the
program hard and angry and graduated rejoicing with hope.
One of the tools of the curriculum was
a list of relapse warning signs. It was
a scale used to identify current thoughts and feelings that would escalate
toward degeneration of recovery, if not caught and corrected. This tool was invaluable.
Harmful behavior is not limited to the
addict. No one lives perfectly as “all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 ESV). I struggle with my behaviors despite church
attendance, daily Bible study and volunteering in Christian organizations. As much as anyone, I need tools to help me
stay on track. I doubted the average
person would be comfortable, as I was, using instruments of recovery. So, I prayed, asking for a revelation that
would be received by people not in treatment.
A Love Scale was the answer to my
prayer. Specifically, a scripture that
describes the characteristics of love. 1
Corinthians 13:4-7 is a well-known passage that lists the aspects of living
like Christ. I can run my daily concerns
through this passage and know immediately where I am stumbling.
Love is patient....Am I patient with
my kids?
Love is kind....Oh dear, I snapped
at my mother!
Love does not envy....Yesterday I was
yearning for a life like Amy’s.
And so on through the list of 1
Corinthians 13:4-7.
Used this way, this passage becomes a
Love Scale, weighing the purity of heart and the progress of walking with
Christ. Any heavy burden can be measured
by this tool to see where love is lacking, where the holes in trust and faith
lie. You must be willing, however, to
hear the corrective comments of God the Father on your behavior.
The simplicity of belief in Jesus is
that the treatment for slipping into old patterns is surrender, not
trying harder. Unlike the game of Chutes
and Ladders, where you slide to the bottom and start back at the beginning, a
repentant heart puts you right back where you left off...at Jesus’ side. We fall and He offers a hand to lift us right
back to our feet.
This Love Scale keeps me in check time
after time. It’s posted on my wall, in a
place where I tend to retreat when I’m hurting.
I pray for clarity, put my burdens on the scale and look for the answer.
Where, in your walk with Christ, do you
keep tripping up? What situations
trigger you? How do you respond? Friend, I encourage you to keep the Love
Scale handy. Used with humility, this
scripture will guide you in new habits, helping you discover where you are
still weak. Jesus is right beside you,
encouraging with His words and assisting you as you grow stronger in His way.
Author
Bio:
Sharon has
been writing and teaching biblically based curriculum, Bible studies, and
devotionals since 2007.
She has
had the unique position of writing curriculum and teaching for two private,
Christ-based, residential recovery programs. Both programs primarily served
women in the homeless community.
Sharon has
traveled multiple times to Kenya, serving on medical teams and teaching in the
rural Maasai communities. She’s been privileged to speak in Leadership camps intended
on encouraging and empowering the impoverished, underprivileged, and often
abused young women.
Within
these ministries, Sharon has witnessed the transformative power of loving words
spoken to the broken-hearted. Sharing God’s love and witnessing its
transformative power has become her passion.
Sharon and
her husband, divide their time between Oregon and Hawaii. They have two grown
children.
Currently,
Sharon is encouraging others via her inspirational blog, but prefers sharing
face to face. Additionally, she is working towards a degree in Ministry.
~*~
Connect
with Sharon:
Website: Sharonmusgrove.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sharon-Musgrove-Untethered-102208978041060
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonmusgrove_untethered/
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