9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.   Romans 12:9-10

Love must be sincere.

Love must be without hypocrisy.

Love must be without a mask to hide behind.

Are you willing to love with your cracks showing?

Are you willing to sit long with Jesus till your view of a difficult  person is formed by love?

When there are cracks in your capacity to love will you meet Jesus for the grace to grow in love?

Life together with anyone has a way of revealing my incompetence at love. Scary as it is I’m finding this awareness of my love deficit is a gift. Must of us think we are pretty good at love and naturally deflect responsibility for our inadequacies. Our denial is expense and works to the detriment of ourselves, our families, our churches, our friends, and our communities.

If I hate the pain my deficiencies may cause another then I may choose humility and the reckless love of Christ at the Cross. Then I can invite all to dive deeper into His grace with me. But if I deny and refuse to acknowledge when I acted  without love or with a false love, then I perpetuate the deception ruling this world and actually join in — purposefully excluding God from my relationships.