Extra Absorbent
By
Elin Henderson
“[Love]
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…”
1
Corinthians 13:7 (NKJV)
How many of us have
stood in front of the paper towel, tissue, diaper or toilet paper section of
the grocery store and had to decide which type to buy? Absorbent? Extra
absorbent? Super absorbent? There are so many options! For me, personally, it
has been awhile since I had this much variety to choose from. When I am in
Africa, IF I find any paper towels in the store at all, I buy them…extra
absorbent or not!
I couldn’t help but
think the other day when I was reading the well-known “love” passage in I
Corinthians 13, how much we as Christians are called to be extra absorbent when
it comes to life and wrongs. It is possible to read this verse as saying “Love
absorbs all things,” True love takes the hit, cleans up the spills, and absorbs
the mess of sin and hurt. The fact is that we live in a messy world with plenty
of accidents (purposeful and accidental). Only through the power of the Holy
Spirit can we love in such a way that we absorb the hurt and still stay in one
piece! That requires some serious absorption! To absorb hurt is truly the
harder road to take. Humanly speaking, it is easier to reciprocate hurt than it
is to absorb it. Our natural tendency is return the “favor” to the one who hurt
us. We tend to think, “Oh yeah? Well, two can play that game.” The Holy Spirit
calls us to do what is humanly impossible; He calls us to a “God-likeness” that
covers and absorbs a multitude of sins with a deep love that does not
reciprocate hurt for hurt.
So how absorbent have
you been? What happens when life spills hurt on to you? Today, let’s look to
our source of True Love, and show His love to the messy
world around us by becoming extra absorbent.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What other truths
about love’s extra absorption can you learn from 1 Corinthians 13? How will you
live it?
FURTHER READING:
Oakwood’s
missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as
church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to Callie
and Elias.
