God calls us to be imitators of Christ. To spread His word throughout the nations. Declare His glory. To not grow weary of doing good. To love one another.
Yet we get so focused on the destination, that many of us forget the journey along the way. We know that we are supposed to do all of these things and we work toward them, but we forget to inject them in to EVERYTHING we do. That includes work. What better way is there to inject love (God’s love) into your day and the day of everyone you come across than to perform your tasks…your obligations…your chores… with love in your heart?
Hear me out here as I talk about duty versus love today.
Duty is making your spouse a lunch. Love is putting a nice note inside the lunch sac.
Duty makes your spouse coffee in the morning. Love brings that coffee to her with a dance and a smile to make her laugh in the morning.
Duty pops out of bed the second the alarm goes off. Love builds in 5 minutes for morning snuggles.
Duty is finishing your assigned task early and blowing off the rest of your work day. Love is asking if anyone else needs help.
Duty is saying, “That’s not MY job, sorry.” While love rolls up its sleeves to assist.
Duty says goodbye to your loved one with a quick obligatory peck on the cheek. Love stops what it is doing, gets up and gives your sweetie a long, purposeful hug.
When you do things with love in your heart, the task is no longer a burden.
The chore becomes the cakewalk.
The imposition, the blessing.
The requirement becomes the pleasure.
The next time you find yourself “just doing your job” or just going through the motions, stop yourself. This is a perfect time to show God’s love to someone else. Perform whatever it is with love…and then watch the smile that appears on your face and the face of others. And know that God is smiling too.
Jen
“And what is work without love? It is to weave the cloth with the threads from your heart…It is to build a house with affection…It is to sew the seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy…It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit. Work is love made visible.” Kahlil Gibran
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and loves God. 1 John 4:7
Thank you so much for reading today. I hope that I made you smile and think a little bit. Be sure to check out my Podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud and Stitcher —- Jen’s 10 G’s