Week 10 Charity

Charity is the pure love of Christ.  H Wallace Goddard in his book Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage says, "We choose to see each other the way ordinary mortals see each other, or we choose to see each other the way Jesus sees us.  That is charity, the mind of Christ."  How do you see other people?  do you see them as Christ sees them?  Do you know they are a child of God? Or do you see their weaknesses and exterior as it is with their flaws?  Sometimes as I walk down the street I may see someone that gives me pause to judge and try to remind myself that they too are Heavenly Fathers children.

In John 13:34 he asks us to Love one another, as I have loved you.  He isn't just talking about those that we see outside our home.  He is also talking about our family.  Sometimes It is the hardest to love, respect and be kind to our family.  We let our guard down and feel we can do or say anything we want to them - even if it means unkind words or deeds.  These are the people we will be living with for eternities.  Love them.  Be kind to them and help them lift others where they stand.

In  Goddard's book he also says, "Rather than re-working our partners to our liking, we are invited to cover their weaknesses with Charity!  God is serious about cultivating our Charity.  Irritations with our partners are not a challenge in diplomacy as much a to our charity.  There are no right words when our hearts are wrong."  We are not asked to fix our spouses or family members, but look into our hearts and see how we can fix ourselves to be more charitable towards them.

If you have done or said unkind words to your spouse or family members, ask for forgiveness.  As for forgiveness from your Heavenly Father as well.  And just as important as those two things are, you need to forgive yourself and work hard at being a better person.  Make the choice to do good and be a great example in your family.  Forgive others, ask for forgiveness and forgive yourself - never doing them again. 
Charity - the pure love of Christ.  Important to have with your family and spouse and important to remember that the Lord loves you as you are and wants you to improve.  He wants you to live with Him and Heavenly Father again some day.