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Love: The Kingdom's Currrency

Love: The Kingdom's Currency!
(A short story written by Joy A. Adewumi)


'I don't know, I just don't like her! Is there a problem with that?' Olayemi fumed as I called her away after a rather rude response she threw at a well-meaning classmate who was trying to be friendly.

'Oh yes, there is a problem with that! You're a Christian, you can't just not like a fellow. It goes against your identity as a child of God.'

My friend released a sigh as she tried to relax her features but they remained taut and she rubbed her forehead with her fingers.

'I don't like the way she talks. She's too loud, too jovial, too... Well, I don't know! Too everything!' Olayemi spat out, throwing her hands in the air as she tried to defend her stance.

I narrowed my eyes at my friend as I tried to figure out what was wrong. I kept looking at her and soon she was squirming under my gaze.

'Stop giving me that look as if you can see right through me and say whatever it is that is on your mind!' Olayemi said defiantly as she looked away from my gaze and avoided my eyes.

I smiled because her reaction confirmed what I suspected. There was more to Olayemi's dislike than she was letting on.

I also knew trying to get her to open up was just a waste of time, considering the Spirit of God already ministered a message for her and she also already gave me the permission to talk.

So I did just that. Talk.

'Ola, I don't know what's going on in your head, but whatever gets you so irritated with your fellow person, that makes you react and respond rudely to him/her, that makes you fume when he/she has done absolutely nothing other than to be himself or herself is a red light.

'We are citizens of God's kingdom and love is our currency.

'God is love. The Lord Jesus is God's expression of love to us and the Holy Spirit is a fulfilment of a promise of love.

'This same love is imputed to us when we are inducted into the kingdom. It becomes our nature and it behooves us to grow in it.

'Our Lord Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

'Love is how we are recognised. And this love is more a verb than a noun.

'It is visible, tangible, audible and perceivable. It is everything 1 Corinthians 13 says it is!

'When you feel anything but love- pure and adulterated- towards your neighbor for whatever reason at all, it is a red light for you to pause and check yourself.

'What could be the cause? Envy, irritation, intolerance, anger, transferred aggression?

'Identify it and pray it out!

'It is not about that person regardless of who he is or what he has done. We are after all called to love EVERYONE. It's about you acting contrary to your nature.

'Remember sweety, love is our Kingdom's currency. Without it, you're a nobody. You do not belong.'

I watched the defiance slowly drop off my friend's face and her macho stance relax as she peered at me and said,

'You're right. It's easy for me to say the problem is with her and list the growing number of things I don't like about her, but I know it's not about her.

'Thanks for calling me back to my senses, Mercy. God bless you.'

'Amen.' I smiled goofily as I winked at her and snaked my arm around her elbow pulling her back with me towards the classroom simultaneously tickling her with my other hand and relished hearing her yelp.

*******************

How many times have we chalked up our growing or sudden dislike for a fellow to a simple:

'I just don't like her! It happens!'?

Yea, it happens, but for a child of God, it's not normal.

No one is perfect, rather we all are growing into the fullness of the nature of Christ, and that is why we have to keep working towards perfection despite our inherent flaws.

There are times we feel less than Christian and we either want to pull at our hair out of frustration or just want to simply give up trying!

But that is the point we persevere in prayers.

We are children of God and whatever is not of love is not of God; and whatever is not of God is of the devil. We can't settle with such.

God help us all. Amen.

John 13:34; 35
John 15:12

The_Kingdom_currency

©Spirit Pen


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