A Matter of Faith...

By Carol Round

Love Without Limits

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (NIV)

Wouldn’t it be nice if love were like a cafeteria line? When I read this opening question in one of Max Lucado’s daily devotionals, I thought, “Wow, wouldn’t that be nice.”

Picture yourself going through a cafeteria line, selecting those qualities that appeal to you. Just like we select the food that appeals to our palate, we could select those
characteristics in a person that we most appreciate and pass over those aspects that we don’t especially like. For me, it would be like avoiding the brussel sprouts and tofu. Give me that apple pie with vanilla ice cream instead.

Let’s see, if I were searching for traits in a potential mate, I’d take a large bowl of humor. Oh, and I must have a huge platter of handy man. I can’t miss the side plate of humble pie but I’ll skip the helping of moodiness.

Think of the choices we could make if we could go through the cafeteria line of love. What if we could do this with our children? We could select those qualities that we consider important, like good grades and no temper tantrums. We could avoid the tumultuous teen years and the messy bedrooms.

However, what if our children could go through that same smorgasbord line and pick out the parental qualities they considered loving? I’m sure we wouldn’t be surprised at their choices. Let’s see: “Give me a heaping plateful of allowances, a nice car and a cell phone, but forget the rules and losing my driving privileges when I miss my curfew.”

If love were like going through a cafeteria line, it would be great. But what if someone were going through that line looking at your qualities. I know that some of my less lovely attributes would not be something you would want to savor. I’ll pass on Carol’s tendency to chatter too much and skip the nagging when people don’t pick up after themselves.

If we could select those qualities that most appeal to us and ignore the rest, would it be love? What if God chose to not overlook our less lovely qualities? We’d all be in trouble. But God loves us unconditionally.

I recently came across the Serenity Prayer but with a new twist:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change; The courage to change the one I can; And the wisdom to know that person is me."

When “love without limits” is our choice, we are emulating the master of loving. When He is our guide, we don’t have to worry about the choices we make. He has already made them for us.

A collection of Carol Round’s most popular faith-based columns is now available in book form. For more information, readers can reach her at carolaround@yahoo.com.