The Acid Test
"Love is the acid test of Christian Spirituality. If Christian conversion is authentic, we are in a process of becoming more loving. If you are not becoming more loving, something is seriously wrong."
Dr. David Benner wrote that. I love it when things are put out there like that with no wiggle room. Jesus did that a lot. In fact here’s how Jesus said the above:
“They’ll know you’re mine by your love. ”
"But," you say, "wait a minute. Not all that seems like love is love. Some things get misinterpreted as 'love,' but in fact are not."
True. So how can we check the validity of our acid test? And what if we're using the wrong chemicals? Wrong test?
Ask yourself these as starters:
-
Do I cover up my wrong-doings in some way? Blame shift/lie/shout, "So what? Deal with it!"
-
Do I suck up all the oxygen in the room with me, me, me?
-
Do I get angry quickly when things don’t go my way? (Lash out or go silent.)
-
Do I avoid people who hold different views/opinions on matters that matter to me? (Or do I pounce on them?)
-
Do I find my heart expanding (and darn, it hurts) to include those I didn’t give a rip about in the past?
Check yourself, dear one. Don't let yourself rationalize, explain or wiggle out. Don't do it.
The litmus test of our authentic Christian experience is love. Not sappy, sugary "nice" (which has crept in to becoming a high value for many western Christians as a love substitute), but the impossible-but-for-the-life-of-Christ-in-us kind of love. The kind of love that, like Jesus, gets down and washes grubby feet, (even His enemy's feet, like Judas), then expands to include walking a long, lonely road to some kind of death.
That kind of love.
In CHRIST,
I'm real because God is so real
Your Calling For Today
Really look at the short list above. Be brutally honest with yourself and God. Are you growing in love or not? If not, ask God to fill you with Himself. He IS love.