Who are you?

Life lessons are those things that God allows us to encounter along life's path that teach us a profound lesson that we need to know.  These lessons will help us later on in life if we learn from them.  They can come in the form of a direct impact on our lives or in the form of an example set before us (you know, this is what we don't do...type example).  We as a family had one of those life lessons recently.  Thankfully it was in the form of an example, not a direct impact on us.  The result had direct impacts on us but the lesson within was a good example of how we should behave.

As some of you may know we had to put our old dog Heidi down in November.  She was a German Shepherd and 14, which is very old for a German Shepherd.  She was a loving, loyal, kind dog who loved "her people".  It seemed most of the time she would do just about anything to please her people.  We hated to see her go.

We also had a cat who belonged to Chris before I came along and stole his heart!  Flash was 18, very cantankerous and ornery.  Chris was the one Flash trusted the most.  Anyone else he would hiss, and run from them.  He was having some health issues, had high blood pressure and had gone blind.  We had to say good bye to him this morning. 

With there being such a stark difference between Heidi and Flash (except for the obvious : dog vs cat) we chose to use this as an opportunity to examine ourselves.  Who are we when we meet or encounter people?  What type of person am I?  Are the contents of my heart what people see or hear?  Most importantly are they what Christ would like to hear?  Do I show Christ to others or do they see Lyn's efforts?

This week in my quiet time I found myself in Ephesians chapter 4. These verses came back to my mind today as we were discussing this life lesson we had before us:

Ephesians 4:21-32 (New International Version)

²¹Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
 ²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶"In your anger do not sin"^[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
 ²⁹Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

John 13:34-35 (New International Version)

 ³⁴"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

One nice thing about this command is that regardless of what we do, God still loves us unconditionally.  We may not always like a person or like what they have done.  Regardless of the circumstances God commands us to love them.  Even when they hurt us.  Sometimes that is hard to do isn't it?  So I challenge you, are you easy to love?  Or do you make it hard for people to love you?   Are you able to forgive and love when someone hurts you?  Something to think about, I know I am.