Love Songs or Clanging Cymbals

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and with truth. 1 John 3:18

As this holiday season approaches, the world, society, life in general, seems to have gone mad. The peaceful neighborhoods and churches of my childhood exist no more. Things that once elicited friendly rivalries and good-natured pacts to “agree to disagree” have turned into anger and shouting matches. Instead of accepting that individual rights to differing views and opinions, relationships end up on the evening news because of minor disagreements.

Christians are to be different.

Americans and Christians alike, used to accept one other as a melting pot of ideologies and opinions without name-calling. It has become passé to accept personal decisions based on prayer, conscience, and experience without going on the attack.

Paul faced increasing differences in the rapidly growing community of new believers. As a Christian who was formerly a respected Jew and persecutor of the new faith in Jesus Christ, he spoke repeatedly about dealing with disagreements in a different way than the world. Paul admonished the Ephesians to speak the truth in love, thus maturing into accurate representations of Christ. He called Christians a “body” that “builds itself up in love”.

We have forgotten the words of First Corinthians 13: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Too many gongs and cymbals clamor in the name of Christ and I suspect it hurts God’s ears. What He longs to hear from His children is a love song.

As we approach the holidays and gather with friends and family, let us remember the rest of that powerful chapter on love. Let us make deliberate decisions to be patient and kind, rather than boastful or proud. We must determine to display attitudes that honor rather than dishonor, to speak thoughtful words rather than those that are self-seeking and angry. Before holiday gatherings, let us wipe perceived wrongs and disagreements from our memories. As we gather with our loved ones, choose to be examples of the Christ-like love that protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres through everything.

This holiday season, let us concentrate on what will outlast everything earthly and temporal—faith, hope, and love. Let us join in songs of love and leave the clanging cymbals behind. If we do, then thanksgiving, peace, and goodwill toward all men will delight the heart of our Lord and bring peace to our land and our homes once again.

© Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, November 19, 2016

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About the author:

Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 41 years. They have two adult children. If you’re interested in connecting with her, you’re to follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.