Love! What is it?

It was just another day starting out in our house, my daughter woke up then proceeded to let us know that she was ready to get out of her crib by her usual cries until one of us sneaks through the door playing peek a boo with her as we pick her up and then start our day. Afterwards my wife had gotten up and then came and joined us in the kitchen, but today started as last night ended, not on the speaking terms of positive people. Then the questions started of whats wrong, why the attitude, then the snapping at each other. Soon we became like two logs on the fire just heating each other up with our words. 

Really! Is this how husbands and wives are suppose to be treating each other, in a competion of who can say the meanest thing and hurt the other the most? I walked out of the house after another spew of word  exchanges and went for a walk. I then took out my cell phone and searched for a marriage hotline. Thank you google! I called and got in contact with a man named Joe. I shared with him our struggle and told him how things are starting and ending on a daily basis. He shared with me about what love is. He took me to 1 Corinthinans 13:4-8 you know the love chapter they call it? Well began to share with me of what love looks like when it is in action. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. You see, love is a verb and if I need to remind you that verb words are action words and if you still are not following me, well this means when you say something in a sentence like walk, running, talking, yelling, etc... you get the point. Love is the same thing. Let me break this verse down for you, "4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails." 

Wow! All of these four verses are verses of action. It seems that love is constantly working and doing something positive. Sadly, when my wife and I would argue, I had a verb, but it was doing the negative action. Joe went on to share with me that this is what love does and this is what I am suppose to be doing. You see I am the head of the household who is leading us to glorify God, but when I am not loving my wife then I am not leading us to glorify God. Joe told me this, "Chris, since you are a bearer of Christ, you already have love in you, but there is one who wants to keep love from happening and he will do it however he can, but you have to remind yourself of this, Christ is in me and I am in Christ and since that is the truth then I 'Chris' is patient, I am kind, I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud, I do not dishonor others, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, I keep no records of wrongs. I do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. I will always protect, I will always trust, I will always hope, I will always persevere." So this is what love is? The crazy thing about this is that I alone cannot do this and just as Joe said that I have Christ in me so with Christ I can do these things, but it is my choice to do so and not anyone else's. Man, what truth to swollow and get humble real quick. This is up to me to be the positive action verb called LOVE, but I have to do it and no one else can. 

When I returned home I sat outside on the steps for a moment praying for Christ to go in before me and bring the peace we needed and then I proceeded into the house. My wife was on the phone talking to one of her friends when I walked in and I went and got my bible and a note pad and begin to write about love. My wife asked me where I went after a few moments and I told her I went and sat under one of the trees around the corner and prayed and thought about some stuff. We began to open up and love came forth. I shared with her about my conversation with Joe and told her that I was sorry for my actions and she said the same. We went through out our day which was funny, before the day ended we had a counseling session later on that day as well. So when we had finished our day I really felt that God gave us a fresh start in life and in our marriage. We prayed that night and let God back in that day. I see that as a man of faith I have some work to do on my end so that the action of love can be the positive action in our home and my wife can feel the love that God designed for her to feel as a wife and my daughter can see what it is like for a husband to really love his wife and for a wife to really love her husband.