Devotion: Love Is Love’s Reward

“The success of love is in the loving–it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.” ~Mother Teresa

Maternal tenderness and affection is something women in all seasons of life extend as we look after loved ones and encourage the best in them.  Whether we have children or not, as friends and sisters, neighbors and daughters we nurture hearts, wipe tears, clean up messes, and share wisdom. However, even when it’s given with the best of intentions, our affection may not be well received or even recognized. But that doesn’t mean we’re not loving well.

The role of mother doesn’t receive a lot of job performance feedback. There are no weekly meetings with your manager or annual reviews. We don’t often hear from our underlings on Boss’s Day, and there’s no hazard pay for potty training or Driver’s Ed, so how do we measure our success? Since a mother’s job is to mold and shape the lives of children, it’s natural for us to look at them to see how we’re doing. But the trouble with this approach is that the outcome doesn’t necessarily reflect the input.

Sometimes the sleep schedule sticks and our children are well rested and well behaved. Sometimes they’re overdue for a nap and knock down the syrup display at the grocery store. Sometimes we may sit in the stands and applaud them as they are accepted into the National Honor Society while other times we may sit with them in the principal’s office wondering how in the world either of us got there. But always, always we love.

If we are going to measure our success by the outcome of each encounter with our children, we’ll soon be nose deep in a pint of Haagen-Dazs. When our children don’t respond or behave the way we hoped, we can feel as though we have failed in our job—but we haven’t. A mother’s job description, though multi-layered, can be boiled down to this: to love her people well. If you’re acting out of a place of love, you are doing much better than you think.

Love is love’s reward.

God loved us first and continues to love us no matter how we respond to him. Loving others freely, with no expectation in return, is the best model of his gold standard. And the dividends do come. They come in sticky kisses and “thanks for the encouragement” responses. And even when the outcome or responses are not what we’d hoped, we know the love we poured out was not in vain. That, most assuredly, is evidence of a job well done.

Father, thank you for loving us whether we are obedient or make a mess of things. Thank you for never withholding love from us because of our response or lack thereof. Empower us to love our friends and family as you first loved us, and remind us that we look the most like you when we love others well. Amen.

 Scripture for Reflection

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV)

Reach For More

Do you sometimes question your ability to be a good mother or friend simply because of someone’s response to you? Friends, let’s stop looking for evidence of a job well done in the behavior of our children and friends, and instead look within our own hearts. Our challenge this week is to love with open hands and no expectation of anything in return. We can love for love’s sake and find that love is love’s reward. Please, come back and leave a comment telling us about how God spoke to you this week, or share your progress on social media using the hashtag #tgtreachformore. We would love to hear from you.

Melinda Mattson will follow any sign that leads to the promise of vintage décor and repurposed treasures. As a wife and mom to two dear daughters, her home is filled with equal measures of sugar and spice. She loves kindness and Jesus and is glad they’re meant to come as a package deal. She aims to embrace both with equal fervor. Melinda blogs at www.melindamattson.com.