Reflecting The Loveliness of Christ

Reflecting The Loveliness of Christ, By Alexis Lozada

Hi Sanger Bible Church Family! If you know me, you know I can go off on a million and one tangents with this blog, so the Lord is helping me to keep it simple and has pointed me back to this one topic:

👸🏼 “Wuv, twue wuv…” 👰🏼

*clears throat* I mean, love. Love is what I am going to be talking about. 

🎶“What is love? Baby don’t hurt me –“🎶

Okay, need to stop.

🛑 “STOP! In the naaaaame of love!” 🛑

Okay, that’s enough.

Woof! This is a glimpse into what I call my “quarantine brain.” As you can see, I get fed up with myself. Thankfully, the Lord has found a variety of digital ways to keep me in fellowship with my sisters even through sheltering in place. 

One thing I found myself confessing to consistently was my failure to love my family, and subsequent frustration with myself. I was convicted recently when I read the question, “Are you conveying the loveliness of Christ?” 

The Lord reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient and kind.” I felt defeated as I recalled my failures to communicate, my desire to point out mistakes, and how frustrated I would get at the smallest things. The Lord helped me come to Him honestly with all of this and showed me that I have the opportunity to choose to be patient and to choose to be kind. 

In true Alexis form, this quickly turned into “Type A” pep talk with myself. “Okay Lord, I got it! Today I am choosing to be patient *check* and choosing to be kind *check*…” Just to exit my room and get frustrated two seconds later. Lord, have mercy! 

He kept me in prayer just confessing where I was in my heart and my thoughts. A few days later, I remember being outside listening to our Home Church message when my mom came out to show me something. I found myself getting irritable because I wanted to be uninterrupted. The Lord reminded me that love “does not insist on its own way.” I paused the video and listened, and that same thing happened a couple more times.

A few days after that, my dad was telling me about a difficult interaction he had with someone. I had a defensive thought about what the other person’s perspective might be in this conflict. The Lord helped me to not jump in and give my two cents, but patiently and gently help my dad try to understand a different perspective. “When is this going to get easier?” I thought. 

I shared this with a friend, Angela Lucero, who beautifully reminded me that love also perseveres. “He says, ‘I’m not gonna leave you. I promise I have good for you. On the cross I showed you I’ll do anything for you.’ He meets us where we are. In light of that, all of our plans, expectations, and disappointments seem to fade away.” I can meet my family where they are because the Lord sticks with me and meets me where I am. He has given me His Spirit as my Helper and Teacher.

I can be so assured of the Lord’s love for others but I find that I struggle to believe it for myself. He has used this time with my family to display His love to me. He patiently and kindly guided me through how to love them through the power of the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t in a rush. His voice didn’t condemn me. He wanted to help me understand like a Good Father would. It made me emotional and I thought it was crazy that He would even be mindful of me.

 But we know that God is love (1 John 4:8b). 

In His loving nature He is perfectly patient:

“But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:16

In His loving nature He shows us His kindness:

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Titus 3:4-5a 

His correction even points to His love for me:

“For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:12

So, mom and dad, if you’re reading this and have seen one ounce of Jesus’ loveliness through me, know that this verse rings true: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). 

Hallelujah! Isn’t it crazy to think that these are just a few aspects of His love? How has the Lord demonstrated an aspect or aspects of His love in meeting you where you are in this time? How might the Lord be working in you to reflect the loveliness of Christ to those closest to you?

Lord, we need You so desperately every day. I thank You for meeting us where we are. Thank You that we can operate from a place of being perfectly loved by You. Thank You for the work that You started in us and are continuing to bring to completion. We thank You that You don’t leave us and promise to work all things for good. I ask that our love for You and others would abound more and more. Help us to recognize Your loving hand over our lives and give You praise in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

(Alexis Lozada has been a part of SBC since 2016. She has served as a volunteer leader in our youth Life Groups for several years as well and currently works as a mentor at Parlier High School. She is our first blogger to use emojis.)