Love endures long and is patient,
waiting for the Holy Spirit's afferent.
Love is always kind,
reaching out to all mankind.
Love is never envious or jealous,
but for their blessing we are zealous.
Love is never boastful or vainglorious,
instead believes all are meritorious.
Love does not display itself haughtily,
and seeks instead humility.
Love is not conceited or puffed up in pride,
but depending on truth to keep it in stride.
Love is not rude and doesn't act unbecomingly,
willing instead to be gentle and mannerly.
Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way,
yielding to others all through the day.
Love is not self-seeking,
through Christ's interceding.
Love is not fretful or resentful,
with a prayer-life eventful.
Love takes no account of the evil done to it,
surrendering to God we're able to bare it.
Love does not rejoice at injustice or unrighteousness,
but mournful we ask for God's mercy and forgiveness.
Love rejoices when right and truth prevail,
giving glory to God for those who avail.
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes,
believing that ultimately His will be done.
Love is ever ready to believe the best of everyone,
never really knowing what the other has undergone.
Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances,
trusting in God no matter the consequences.
Love endures everything,
and suffers through anything.
Love never fails and never fades out,
our faith in God leaves us without a doubt.
I love you.
Showing posts with label I Corinthians 13. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I Corinthians 13. Show all posts
Love Never Fails
Well, my friends, we have come to the last element of Love. It is more than interesting that within the same verse, we find 'Love Never Fails' is pitted against the things many people often think are more important than or equal to love. Listen to the comparison, here in verse 8-10 of I Cor 13.
8. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
9. For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).
10. But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).
Paul's major point is that love is the only permanent thing. The Corinthians needed to hear this because they were busy dividing the fellowship over the issues that are temporal and forgetting the one thing that was eternal.
I believe the church today needs to hear this for the very same reason.
Love never fails. The word "fail" is an interesting word in the Greek. The common translation of the word is "to fall." Literally it means "to fall to the ground" and sometimes refers to the finality of something falling into decay.
I started out in this study drawing your attention to how important love is to God, therefore, it is important to us. Because it is important to me, I am quick to put Love above things that we talk about at church. I don't argue about it, for that would not be love, nor is it 'MY' truth that I am defending. But on several occasions, when I have pointed this out, even leaders within some churches have argued that things like Evangelising and Tithing, were at least 'equally' as important.
My friends, please understand that because Evangelising, or Tithing, or Fasting are not listed here suggests that they could be equal to love. There is no reason for Paul to list everything that love is more important than, here, in verse 8. Go back to Mat 22:34-40, and I Cor 13:1-3, "or" just keep reading here up thru verse 13.
12. For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand [f]fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood by God].
13. And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Think about it this way, If you truly Love God, you "will" Evangelize. Maybe not systematically, like the church does, but when the Spirit gives you utterance or moves you toward a lost soul. Anyway, (more on that later) but on the other-hand, if you do evangelise and have not love in your heart, I'm curious... "Who are you evangelising them unto"?
We've got to move on in our study for now, but I hope you'll come back to this issue of where Love should be ranked among the list of what's important to God, to You, and for the Church. I am not asking anyone to stop evangelising or tithing, or even speaking in tongues, but if there is someone you disdain today... A group of people you feel better than, then your money is useless and your tongues are just noise.
Why will Love NEVER fail? I fail at Love sometimes, even when I've done everything I thought possible. Didn't I fail if the other person would not accept or receive my love? That's some of the questions I might ask? But, even as I ask these questions, the Holy Spirit says, "Since I've been with you, when have you failed to love". "You have not stopped loving that person, even after all has passed". "Even though you have both moved on, your love for that person remains constant".
The Spirit reveals that, while I make mistakes, love doesn't 'pass or fail'... like taking an exam. Love never fails, as in, 'Never Ends, Never Ceases To Exist'. It is true that God doesn't fail (make mistakes), and since the Love that is in me 'is' God, it will never fail (make mistakes). But that's not what this scripture is talking about.
Remember very early in our study (This Thing Called Love), we said that this is not what we thought love was. It is God Himself living in us. God is eternal, and He is Love, therefore, Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
Everything we have discovered about love is linked together in perfect harmony, meaning and expression. "It" is God. While my presentation of Love may be lacking, the truths revealed are PERFECT. God, living in us, manifesting HIMSELF to us and out onto each other. It is the most important thing.
I pray that over time, the section of your bibles that deal with love will be the most worn pages of all and that after we have gone home (Heaven) those who remember us will remember how much we loved.
1 Corinthians 8:2 "If anyone imagines that he has come to know and understand much [of divine things, without love], he does not yet perceive and recognize and understand as strongly and clearly, nor has he become as intimately acquainted with anything as he ought or as is necessary."
Thank you for your encouragement and patience with me during this study. I hope that if it has blessed you that you would share it, use it in part or whole, if you like.
I Love you.
8. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
9. For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).
10. But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).
Paul's major point is that love is the only permanent thing. The Corinthians needed to hear this because they were busy dividing the fellowship over the issues that are temporal and forgetting the one thing that was eternal.
I believe the church today needs to hear this for the very same reason.
Love never fails. The word "fail" is an interesting word in the Greek. The common translation of the word is "to fall." Literally it means "to fall to the ground" and sometimes refers to the finality of something falling into decay.
I started out in this study drawing your attention to how important love is to God, therefore, it is important to us. Because it is important to me, I am quick to put Love above things that we talk about at church. I don't argue about it, for that would not be love, nor is it 'MY' truth that I am defending. But on several occasions, when I have pointed this out, even leaders within some churches have argued that things like Evangelising and Tithing, were at least 'equally' as important.
My friends, please understand that because Evangelising, or Tithing, or Fasting are not listed here suggests that they could be equal to love. There is no reason for Paul to list everything that love is more important than, here, in verse 8. Go back to Mat 22:34-40, and I Cor 13:1-3, "or" just keep reading here up thru verse 13.
12. For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand [f]fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood by God].
13. And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Think about it this way, If you truly Love God, you "will" Evangelize. Maybe not systematically, like the church does, but when the Spirit gives you utterance or moves you toward a lost soul. Anyway, (more on that later) but on the other-hand, if you do evangelise and have not love in your heart, I'm curious... "Who are you evangelising them unto"?
We've got to move on in our study for now, but I hope you'll come back to this issue of where Love should be ranked among the list of what's important to God, to You, and for the Church. I am not asking anyone to stop evangelising or tithing, or even speaking in tongues, but if there is someone you disdain today... A group of people you feel better than, then your money is useless and your tongues are just noise.
Why will Love NEVER fail? I fail at Love sometimes, even when I've done everything I thought possible. Didn't I fail if the other person would not accept or receive my love? That's some of the questions I might ask? But, even as I ask these questions, the Holy Spirit says, "Since I've been with you, when have you failed to love". "You have not stopped loving that person, even after all has passed". "Even though you have both moved on, your love for that person remains constant".
The Spirit reveals that, while I make mistakes, love doesn't 'pass or fail'... like taking an exam. Love never fails, as in, 'Never Ends, Never Ceases To Exist'. It is true that God doesn't fail (make mistakes), and since the Love that is in me 'is' God, it will never fail (make mistakes). But that's not what this scripture is talking about.
Remember very early in our study (This Thing Called Love), we said that this is not what we thought love was. It is God Himself living in us. God is eternal, and He is Love, therefore, Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
Everything we have discovered about love is linked together in perfect harmony, meaning and expression. "It" is God. While my presentation of Love may be lacking, the truths revealed are PERFECT. God, living in us, manifesting HIMSELF to us and out onto each other. It is the most important thing.
I pray that over time, the section of your bibles that deal with love will be the most worn pages of all and that after we have gone home (Heaven) those who remember us will remember how much we loved.
1 Corinthians 8:2 "If anyone imagines that he has come to know and understand much [of divine things, without love], he does not yet perceive and recognize and understand as strongly and clearly, nor has he become as intimately acquainted with anything as he ought or as is necessary."
Thank you for your encouragement and patience with me during this study. I hope that if it has blessed you that you would share it, use it in part or whole, if you like.
I Love you.
Love's Hopes Are Fadeless
Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Hopeth all things, is the KJV of 1 Cor 13:7 for the study we will look at today. This word Hopeth, all by itself, was "elPIS" in the original text and simply meant to desire of some good with the expectation of obtaining it.
Generally. Spoken especially of those who experience the hope of salvation through Christ, eternal life, and blessedness. Of a hope in or on someone, i.e., trust, confidence. Hope is one of the most distinctive marks of the Christian life in opposition to the hopelessness of the Gentile world. The conclusion of Paul's hymn of love in 1 Cor. 13:13 speaks of hope not as something that is future, but as something that is not going to be needed in the future.
13. "And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love."
The word "greatest" refers not to the inherent value of love, but to the continuation of its function in the future. Faith and hope, on the other hand, are aspects of the Christian's experience that are exercised only on this earth and will not be needed in heaven.
I used to tell my little Sunday-school students that BIBLE stands for: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. It's kinda cute, but, you chew on that a little bit and you'll see, it really is true. Heaven will make that which is now unseen in the graces of faith and hope to become sight.
Vine's, says this about hope: Favorable and confident expectation. It has to do with the unseen and the future. Hope describes the happy anticipation of good, the ground upon which hope is based, and the object upon which the hope is fixed.
For a better understanding of the text we are looking at, we, again, must put "hopeth all things" into the context of what Paul was talking about.
All of these "fruits" or elements of Love that we've been studying were written in the "continual, keep on doing this, don't ever stop" format.
We also must consider that we are talking about a hope of something ultimately good. Not because "we" are just wanting it, but because of the nature of the One whom this kind of love (Agape) is coming from... God. And we know God is Good. And so, this hope is in things that are now or will add up to good.
Next, we see that the "all things" is referring to "life", everything that we will be going through. Circumstances that are beyond what we might have chosen, not what we would have ever dreamed of... The events someone else (God) intimately selected for us to deal with, go through, "endure."
And so, we put all we know about this verse together, we understand that, Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
"The Love that is from God, now living in me, is anticipating good and believes that it will come about and doesn't stop believing that, no matter what happens, ever".
Wow, now I don't know about you guys, but from the pain and suffering (mostly in the heart) that I've gone through, I know this Hope was what brought me this far.
Years ago when my wife changed her mind about our life together, I had to move far away from what she was doing in order to minimize my pain, for one thing... And in doing so, I also gave up everything I had worked hard for, for so many years. My children (teenagers, at that point) were caught up in the excitement of suddenly being around lots of money, jet skis, racing boats, and all. It had taken their attention away from what was eternal and onto the things of that moment. It was so painful.
And so, leaving everything I loved and had been used to for so long was very hard to endure. But, on the inside of me was a HOPE that was not of my own fashioning. I remember the Holy Spirit kept showing me that I had to get somewhere where I could get myself well (mentally) and get my feet back on the ground (financially) to be prepared for my children when they might see what was really happening and search for their Dad's lifestyle. I remember that, Listening to my own thoughts like, "maybe she will change her mind", and "don't you think you are abandoning your children to a Godless lifestyle", left me with hopelessness. Listening to the Holy Spirit allowed me to trust God. Trusting God allowed His love to operate within me and that gave me Hope. So, with just the clothes on my back and a couple suitcases, I moved here to N.C. to live with my parents.
Through the darkest time of that period, there remained, in me this HOPE, this wonderful, "miraculous" fruit of God's love coming up from inside me. Love, not just operating within me but coming out of me as well. Keeping me going even though I couldn't see ANYTHING good with my eyes. You see, I could not see my children coming here six months later, getting back into school, finishing their education here, going to church with me again, finding their mates and even getting married here, and having my grandchildren right here.
God has the only "Box Office Seat, in this game", so-to-speak. Not bound by time, nor distance, nor anything, He alone could see all of these things coming together while I was Trusting in and Relying upon Him.
This Hope that we are talking about is something that I for one, know is REAL because I have experienced it. It came when Love moved into me. One day, years ago, all I wanted was to find out if God was real or not, and instead of just revealing Himself, He moved in. Hope came into me with all of the other fruits of His Love. Its still there, because I still feel it... It won't stop lifting me, driving me to keep on. It moves out through me and into my children and their children, my friends, strangers, and even people I didn't used to like. It's still in me because He's still in me.
Romans 5:5 "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."
Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
Colossians 1:27 "To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory."
I love you.
Generally. Spoken especially of those who experience the hope of salvation through Christ, eternal life, and blessedness. Of a hope in or on someone, i.e., trust, confidence. Hope is one of the most distinctive marks of the Christian life in opposition to the hopelessness of the Gentile world. The conclusion of Paul's hymn of love in 1 Cor. 13:13 speaks of hope not as something that is future, but as something that is not going to be needed in the future.
13. "And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love."
The word "greatest" refers not to the inherent value of love, but to the continuation of its function in the future. Faith and hope, on the other hand, are aspects of the Christian's experience that are exercised only on this earth and will not be needed in heaven.
I used to tell my little Sunday-school students that BIBLE stands for: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. It's kinda cute, but, you chew on that a little bit and you'll see, it really is true. Heaven will make that which is now unseen in the graces of faith and hope to become sight.
Vine's, says this about hope: Favorable and confident expectation. It has to do with the unseen and the future. Hope describes the happy anticipation of good, the ground upon which hope is based, and the object upon which the hope is fixed.
For a better understanding of the text we are looking at, we, again, must put "hopeth all things" into the context of what Paul was talking about.
All of these "fruits" or elements of Love that we've been studying were written in the "continual, keep on doing this, don't ever stop" format.
We also must consider that we are talking about a hope of something ultimately good. Not because "we" are just wanting it, but because of the nature of the One whom this kind of love (Agape) is coming from... God. And we know God is Good. And so, this hope is in things that are now or will add up to good.
Next, we see that the "all things" is referring to "life", everything that we will be going through. Circumstances that are beyond what we might have chosen, not what we would have ever dreamed of... The events someone else (God) intimately selected for us to deal with, go through, "endure."
And so, we put all we know about this verse together, we understand that, Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
"The Love that is from God, now living in me, is anticipating good and believes that it will come about and doesn't stop believing that, no matter what happens, ever".
Wow, now I don't know about you guys, but from the pain and suffering (mostly in the heart) that I've gone through, I know this Hope was what brought me this far.
Years ago when my wife changed her mind about our life together, I had to move far away from what she was doing in order to minimize my pain, for one thing... And in doing so, I also gave up everything I had worked hard for, for so many years. My children (teenagers, at that point) were caught up in the excitement of suddenly being around lots of money, jet skis, racing boats, and all. It had taken their attention away from what was eternal and onto the things of that moment. It was so painful.
And so, leaving everything I loved and had been used to for so long was very hard to endure. But, on the inside of me was a HOPE that was not of my own fashioning. I remember the Holy Spirit kept showing me that I had to get somewhere where I could get myself well (mentally) and get my feet back on the ground (financially) to be prepared for my children when they might see what was really happening and search for their Dad's lifestyle. I remember that, Listening to my own thoughts like, "maybe she will change her mind", and "don't you think you are abandoning your children to a Godless lifestyle", left me with hopelessness. Listening to the Holy Spirit allowed me to trust God. Trusting God allowed His love to operate within me and that gave me Hope. So, with just the clothes on my back and a couple suitcases, I moved here to N.C. to live with my parents.
Through the darkest time of that period, there remained, in me this HOPE, this wonderful, "miraculous" fruit of God's love coming up from inside me. Love, not just operating within me but coming out of me as well. Keeping me going even though I couldn't see ANYTHING good with my eyes. You see, I could not see my children coming here six months later, getting back into school, finishing their education here, going to church with me again, finding their mates and even getting married here, and having my grandchildren right here.
God has the only "Box Office Seat, in this game", so-to-speak. Not bound by time, nor distance, nor anything, He alone could see all of these things coming together while I was Trusting in and Relying upon Him.
This Hope that we are talking about is something that I for one, know is REAL because I have experienced it. It came when Love moved into me. One day, years ago, all I wanted was to find out if God was real or not, and instead of just revealing Himself, He moved in. Hope came into me with all of the other fruits of His Love. Its still there, because I still feel it... It won't stop lifting me, driving me to keep on. It moves out through me and into my children and their children, my friends, strangers, and even people I didn't used to like. It's still in me because He's still in me.
Romans 5:5 "Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us."
Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
Colossians 1:27 "To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory."
I love you.
Love Believes the Best of Everyone
Love is ever ready to believe the best of every person. Too often we (I'm still just talking about those whom are in Christ) are drawn to hear the worst about someone.
In this area of our study, I think we should consider how often we find ourselves focused, or concerned, or even amused by negative things we here about those we are suppose to love, and how wrong it is.
Remember, God looks at the heart of man. and so, we can't hide anything from Him.
Romans 14:10-12, "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God."
Revelation 2:23 says it is God who, "Searches hearts and minds."
When we catch ourselves involved in any kind of thought or discussion about someone and it isn't focused on the best of that person then we must stop and search our hearts.
When we hear something negative about someone, what a beautiful opportunity we have to redirect the attention toward the best quality of that individual. If you don't know the person or have never seen a quality that you think would be considered 'best', then avoid being drawn into the issue at all. It may be that God is giving you the opportunity to look for the best in that person being talked about.
If love, God's love is in our heart, then we will believe the best about people because real love responds in that way.
I have to go back to an earlier study where we talked about God's reasoning to point out one reason why we are so wrong in this area.
We might see, hear, and even be gossiping about the fact that so-in-so was late for work, didn't have any excuse, setting a pattern, a bad example, bla bla bla...
From where our Father is sitting, He can see the struggle at home this morning with a 'hung-over' husband, or the child that was ill, or a hundred other scenarios. He can see that she is even too ashamed to share (render as an excuse for) this 'thing' with anyone and 'why' she feels this way. We, in our 3-dimensioned world, in the flesh and not remaining in the Spirit (like we should) do not see things like He SEES.
But I said this is only one reason we are in error because it is even bigger than 'us not seeing what others are dealing with', or why people do what they do. For that would be like finding justification for why we focus on the worst.
The truth is simply that when you are not seeing the best in that person, then you are not loving them. And, if you are not loving that person then you cannot help, change, inspire, or be used by God in that persons life.
The truth is that when we are interested in hearing the worst about others, then it is time for confession, repentance, prayer, and change.
1 Corinthians 13:6, "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."
From our previous study, we know that the definition of love is 'an action directed to another person (which is motivated by our relationship to Christ) and is done without thought of personal reward.'
Jesus said,
John 13:34-35, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Jesus said to those who had believed in Him,
John 8:31-32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
The truth is that God loves us and has done everything possible to save us.
Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
We can always find something good to say about someone and we should always believe the best. It is our responsibility as a Christian to look for the good and to believe the best (not the worst).
Romans 8:14 "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
James 1:19 NLT, "My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."
The Holy Spirit leads us to shine the best light on others. It is what we would want them to do for us. Being quick to listen for the truth and to search for the best in others reveals that the Spirit is in control. We should be willing to listen twice as much as we want to speak.
Believing is an act of the will. It is a discipline. We are to control our imagination, rather than let it run wild. When we first hear of something, it is so easy to believe the worst unless we are attentive to the Spirit.
The apostle Paul said,
2 Corinthians 10:5, "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Matthew 7:12 NLT. We would always want others to believe the best about us (rather than jumping to conclusions).
That is connected to the concluding thought from the apostle in his letter to the Philippians,
Phil 4:8, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Gods love in our heart wants to believe the best and to do what is right.
We have been given that power of choice so that we can choose to believe what is honorable and right and worthy of praise (or not).
In addition, we should not stop at just believing something because the belief must be combined with action. In speaking about Abraham and connecting his faith with action,
James 2:24, "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone."
It is impossible to know if a person believes the best or the worst, unless it is expressed in words or put into action. We can have good intentions and believe the very best about someone, but that must be put into action (or words) for anything positive to result.
James 2:17, "Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all — it is dead and useless."
It is certainly right to believe the best of others, but let us put that belief into action when God has opened the way (or the opportunity) for us to do so. Let us be an encourager to our fellow Christians, neighbors and friends. If we encouraged one person a day, there would be 365 more people with a positive outlook each year.
A close, personal relationship with Christ, reveals itself in believing the best about others. Love takes the time to care. Whatever our primary interest is (and no matter how filled our day may be) we find time to do what we want to do. The urgent often seems to crowd out the important.
Spending time with those we love is not always a priority, but it should be. Twenty years from now the work will still be there, but those moments with little ones, elderly, etc... will have vanished forever. The resetting of priorities begins right in the home. Little ones don't stay little for long and you never know how long you will have the opportunity with anyone.
Love calls for us to set aside our wants and focus on someone else's needs. Reading about the life of Jesus in any of the Gospels, shows Him taking the time (or making the time) for people who needed His attention. We can often show Christ-like love just by taking advantage of the opportunities God gives us in the course of a day.
Anyone we come in contact with is to be considered our neighbor, as Jesus explained in His story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:27). The man became a good Samaritan because he took advantage of the opportunity to help someone who had a definite need (while the others ignored him and walked by).
The Apostle Paul expressed the same concept,
Romans 15:1-3, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself…"
The opportunity to help may not be presented every day, but when it does, may God enable us to reach out and become a good Samaritan.
Matthew 6:33, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
When our priorities are in line with God's Word, and when we are following the Spirit, believing the best about others will flow out of our hearts and out to those we come into contact with.
Love believes the best of everyone.
I love you.
In this area of our study, I think we should consider how often we find ourselves focused, or concerned, or even amused by negative things we here about those we are suppose to love, and how wrong it is.
Remember, God looks at the heart of man. and so, we can't hide anything from Him.
Romans 14:10-12, "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God."
Revelation 2:23 says it is God who, "Searches hearts and minds."
When we catch ourselves involved in any kind of thought or discussion about someone and it isn't focused on the best of that person then we must stop and search our hearts.
When we hear something negative about someone, what a beautiful opportunity we have to redirect the attention toward the best quality of that individual. If you don't know the person or have never seen a quality that you think would be considered 'best', then avoid being drawn into the issue at all. It may be that God is giving you the opportunity to look for the best in that person being talked about.
If love, God's love is in our heart, then we will believe the best about people because real love responds in that way.
I have to go back to an earlier study where we talked about God's reasoning to point out one reason why we are so wrong in this area.
We might see, hear, and even be gossiping about the fact that so-in-so was late for work, didn't have any excuse, setting a pattern, a bad example, bla bla bla...
From where our Father is sitting, He can see the struggle at home this morning with a 'hung-over' husband, or the child that was ill, or a hundred other scenarios. He can see that she is even too ashamed to share (render as an excuse for) this 'thing' with anyone and 'why' she feels this way. We, in our 3-dimensioned world, in the flesh and not remaining in the Spirit (like we should) do not see things like He SEES.
But I said this is only one reason we are in error because it is even bigger than 'us not seeing what others are dealing with', or why people do what they do. For that would be like finding justification for why we focus on the worst.
The truth is simply that when you are not seeing the best in that person, then you are not loving them. And, if you are not loving that person then you cannot help, change, inspire, or be used by God in that persons life.
The truth is that when we are interested in hearing the worst about others, then it is time for confession, repentance, prayer, and change.
1 Corinthians 13:6, "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."
From our previous study, we know that the definition of love is 'an action directed to another person (which is motivated by our relationship to Christ) and is done without thought of personal reward.'
Jesus said,
John 13:34-35, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Jesus said to those who had believed in Him,
John 8:31-32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
The truth is that God loves us and has done everything possible to save us.
Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
We can always find something good to say about someone and we should always believe the best. It is our responsibility as a Christian to look for the good and to believe the best (not the worst).
Romans 8:14 "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
James 1:19 NLT, "My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."
The Holy Spirit leads us to shine the best light on others. It is what we would want them to do for us. Being quick to listen for the truth and to search for the best in others reveals that the Spirit is in control. We should be willing to listen twice as much as we want to speak.
Believing is an act of the will. It is a discipline. We are to control our imagination, rather than let it run wild. When we first hear of something, it is so easy to believe the worst unless we are attentive to the Spirit.
The apostle Paul said,
2 Corinthians 10:5, "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Matthew 7:12 NLT. We would always want others to believe the best about us (rather than jumping to conclusions).
That is connected to the concluding thought from the apostle in his letter to the Philippians,
Phil 4:8, "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Gods love in our heart wants to believe the best and to do what is right.
We have been given that power of choice so that we can choose to believe what is honorable and right and worthy of praise (or not).
In addition, we should not stop at just believing something because the belief must be combined with action. In speaking about Abraham and connecting his faith with action,
James 2:24, "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone."
It is impossible to know if a person believes the best or the worst, unless it is expressed in words or put into action. We can have good intentions and believe the very best about someone, but that must be put into action (or words) for anything positive to result.
James 2:17, "Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all — it is dead and useless."
It is certainly right to believe the best of others, but let us put that belief into action when God has opened the way (or the opportunity) for us to do so. Let us be an encourager to our fellow Christians, neighbors and friends. If we encouraged one person a day, there would be 365 more people with a positive outlook each year.
A close, personal relationship with Christ, reveals itself in believing the best about others. Love takes the time to care. Whatever our primary interest is (and no matter how filled our day may be) we find time to do what we want to do. The urgent often seems to crowd out the important.
Spending time with those we love is not always a priority, but it should be. Twenty years from now the work will still be there, but those moments with little ones, elderly, etc... will have vanished forever. The resetting of priorities begins right in the home. Little ones don't stay little for long and you never know how long you will have the opportunity with anyone.
Love calls for us to set aside our wants and focus on someone else's needs. Reading about the life of Jesus in any of the Gospels, shows Him taking the time (or making the time) for people who needed His attention. We can often show Christ-like love just by taking advantage of the opportunities God gives us in the course of a day.
Anyone we come in contact with is to be considered our neighbor, as Jesus explained in His story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:27). The man became a good Samaritan because he took advantage of the opportunity to help someone who had a definite need (while the others ignored him and walked by).
The Apostle Paul expressed the same concept,
Romans 15:1-3, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself…"
The opportunity to help may not be presented every day, but when it does, may God enable us to reach out and become a good Samaritan.
Matthew 6:33, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
When our priorities are in line with God's Word, and when we are following the Spirit, believing the best about others will flow out of our hearts and out to those we come into contact with.
Love believes the best of everyone.
I love you.
Love Bears up Under Anything
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes. Bears up in spite of all things evil, and is not overcome. This is the idea of "beareth." Love bears up against the tide of evil, as the rock against the waves.
When a man and woman marry, they vow to love each other "in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse." This type of love is characteristic of the love described in I Corinthians 13. This kind of love, we have learned in our other studies is Agape love whether that love be for a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, family member, fellow Christian or someone to whom you are ministering.
We are called to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"
"Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]" Galatians 6:2.
Sometimes difficulties will arise within any type of relationship. Someone will say or do things which hurt the other. For the most part, it may have been unintentional, but that doesn't always make it easier to bear. More often the difficulties arise from outside the relationship itself. Sickness, persecution, financial distress, emotional pain, attacks of Satan which affect one of the people will, (by extension) affect both. Remember the context in which I Corinthians 13 appears. In Chapter 12 is a discussion of the body of Christ and how what affects one member affects all.
True Agape love feels the pain of others, and in so doing, helps carry that burden. Their prayer needs become our prayer needs. Their distress becomes our distress. Their need for salvation, deliverance or healing becomes ours as well. To bear another's burdens doesn't require that we need to be strong, it simply requires that we be willing.
There will always be another pair of hands helping with that burden. And if you look closely, you will find that they have the imprints of nails in them from a time, when He carried a burden that wasn't His.
This word bearing, in the original language also meant to cover something. In this case, it means to cover the wrong doing of others. It means to be the "Fall Guy" whenever possible.
You know that if you are in Christ, YOU are being covered. When God looks at Preston Pittman, He only sees Christ. It will be this way until I have received my new Body... where there is no sin or suffering.
And so, similarly we are to cover one another. Looking for opportunities to take the brunt... even the punishment for each others mistakes.
This is love my friends.
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes.
I Love you.
When a man and woman marry, they vow to love each other "in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse." This type of love is characteristic of the love described in I Corinthians 13. This kind of love, we have learned in our other studies is Agape love whether that love be for a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, family member, fellow Christian or someone to whom you are ministering.
We are called to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ"
"Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]" Galatians 6:2.
Sometimes difficulties will arise within any type of relationship. Someone will say or do things which hurt the other. For the most part, it may have been unintentional, but that doesn't always make it easier to bear. More often the difficulties arise from outside the relationship itself. Sickness, persecution, financial distress, emotional pain, attacks of Satan which affect one of the people will, (by extension) affect both. Remember the context in which I Corinthians 13 appears. In Chapter 12 is a discussion of the body of Christ and how what affects one member affects all.
True Agape love feels the pain of others, and in so doing, helps carry that burden. Their prayer needs become our prayer needs. Their distress becomes our distress. Their need for salvation, deliverance or healing becomes ours as well. To bear another's burdens doesn't require that we need to be strong, it simply requires that we be willing.
There will always be another pair of hands helping with that burden. And if you look closely, you will find that they have the imprints of nails in them from a time, when He carried a burden that wasn't His.
This word bearing, in the original language also meant to cover something. In this case, it means to cover the wrong doing of others. It means to be the "Fall Guy" whenever possible.
You know that if you are in Christ, YOU are being covered. When God looks at Preston Pittman, He only sees Christ. It will be this way until I have received my new Body... where there is no sin or suffering.
And so, similarly we are to cover one another. Looking for opportunities to take the brunt... even the punishment for each others mistakes.
This is love my friends.
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes.
I Love you.
Love Does Not Rejoice at Injustice
"Love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail." 1 Corinthians 13:6
I heard someone (a company I had been to) had recently been robbed. I found myself feeling kinda glad because of the way I had been treated by them in the past. This initial feeling quickly turned into GUILT which results in conflict between the Holy Spirit and the still corrupt natural deeds of my flesh.
No matter how "deserving" it may seem for someone to "get what's coming to them", that's not what love would do. Love does not avenge itself. Love is not secretly glad someone was injured or hurt or paid back for their wrongs.
Bill Turners Commentary says, Love rejoices not in iniquity, it is not glad when others go wrong. Love does not rejoice, "ou chairei," over evil, sin and failure; this is what the wicked do.
Romans 1:32 "Though they are fully aware of God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them. Love does not enjoy evil, nor does it find pleasure in finding out the faults of others and making them known."
1 John 2:15-17 "15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. 17 And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever."
There is no triumph in knowing we were right about another's failings; a heart of love is sorrowful, prayerful, and broken over the fall or faults of another. We are in real trouble with God if we use a revelation of the Holy Spirit to expose and condemn, when God wanted us to use it to convert, help and strengthen a person, and as a directive to pray earnestly for them. See how prayerfully and kindly our Lord dealt with Peter and the woman at the well.
Love wants to help the fallen, not condemn them. Love never gloats over, or finds satisfaction in, other people's failures. So, why does God have to instruct Christians on rejoicing in unrighteousness. And how can we obey Gods Word.
What we allow into our hearts and minds, and what we dwell on in our thoughts affects what we want, and choose, to do in daily life. And along with idle talk among our friends that turns in the wrong direction, we should also be careful of what we watch on TV and in movies, what we read in books and magazines, the kinds of games we play, and the kinds of jokes we listen to.
Here's the problem:
Sin is never passive. It leads to more sin, prompting us to self delusions and even outward deception. It will also lead us to try and justify our wrong behavior. Sin is all about doing what pleases self at the expense of others. Even actual sin itself may seem harmless, since many sins do not involve anyone else. But the time we spend with sin is time and imagination and creativity lost to us forever. Had we spent that time and effort doing good instead of evil, we may have accomplished real good for someone else. We may have even changed the world we live in. But we will never know how God might have used us if we make room for sin instead of right thinking and acting.
Learn to discern (recognize) what is off color, less than worthy, or even evil, and why it is wrong. Discipline your mind by God's Word, training yourself to think according to God's truth and righteousness. None of us are ever perfectly pure in our motives or thinking. Not naturally, anyway. But God will help us if we are willing to spend time with God, reading the Scriptures, praying in the Spirit, and follow the Holy Spirits urges.
The Lord Jesus is our way out of the trouble sin brings. Jesus is the life and power we need for godly living. And He is the light we need in a world of darkness, deception and confusion.
Love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
I love you.
I heard someone (a company I had been to) had recently been robbed. I found myself feeling kinda glad because of the way I had been treated by them in the past. This initial feeling quickly turned into GUILT which results in conflict between the Holy Spirit and the still corrupt natural deeds of my flesh.
No matter how "deserving" it may seem for someone to "get what's coming to them", that's not what love would do. Love does not avenge itself. Love is not secretly glad someone was injured or hurt or paid back for their wrongs.
Bill Turners Commentary says, Love rejoices not in iniquity, it is not glad when others go wrong. Love does not rejoice, "ou chairei," over evil, sin and failure; this is what the wicked do.
Romans 1:32 "Though they are fully aware of God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them. Love does not enjoy evil, nor does it find pleasure in finding out the faults of others and making them known."
1 John 2:15-17 "15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. 17 And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever."
There is no triumph in knowing we were right about another's failings; a heart of love is sorrowful, prayerful, and broken over the fall or faults of another. We are in real trouble with God if we use a revelation of the Holy Spirit to expose and condemn, when God wanted us to use it to convert, help and strengthen a person, and as a directive to pray earnestly for them. See how prayerfully and kindly our Lord dealt with Peter and the woman at the well.
Love wants to help the fallen, not condemn them. Love never gloats over, or finds satisfaction in, other people's failures. So, why does God have to instruct Christians on rejoicing in unrighteousness. And how can we obey Gods Word.
What we allow into our hearts and minds, and what we dwell on in our thoughts affects what we want, and choose, to do in daily life. And along with idle talk among our friends that turns in the wrong direction, we should also be careful of what we watch on TV and in movies, what we read in books and magazines, the kinds of games we play, and the kinds of jokes we listen to.
Here's the problem:
Sin is never passive. It leads to more sin, prompting us to self delusions and even outward deception. It will also lead us to try and justify our wrong behavior. Sin is all about doing what pleases self at the expense of others. Even actual sin itself may seem harmless, since many sins do not involve anyone else. But the time we spend with sin is time and imagination and creativity lost to us forever. Had we spent that time and effort doing good instead of evil, we may have accomplished real good for someone else. We may have even changed the world we live in. But we will never know how God might have used us if we make room for sin instead of right thinking and acting.
Learn to discern (recognize) what is off color, less than worthy, or even evil, and why it is wrong. Discipline your mind by God's Word, training yourself to think according to God's truth and righteousness. None of us are ever perfectly pure in our motives or thinking. Not naturally, anyway. But God will help us if we are willing to spend time with God, reading the Scriptures, praying in the Spirit, and follow the Holy Spirits urges.
The Lord Jesus is our way out of the trouble sin brings. Jesus is the life and power we need for godly living. And He is the light we need in a world of darkness, deception and confusion.
Love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
I love you.
Love Takes No Account of the Evil
Love takes no account of the evil done to it. Here again, the King James rendering, just doesn't cut it for me. It renders I Cor 13 verse 5 as "...thinketh no evil", but when you dig a little deeper into the original use of these words, you see that this refers to: a taking into account of things, and in this particular case, the thing is "NO EVIL".
Now in keeping within the context that this verse is in, we are talking about how LOVE, TAKES NO ACCOUNT OF THE EVIL DONE TO IT, another way to put it is that, LOVE PAYS NO ATTENTION TO A SUFFERED WRONG. WOW, can this be true. Well, it's right here in God's word, and if we have searched the scripture like we just did, its there, just as clear as day. So, what does this mean, in layman's terms. Well, It all goes back to what we discussed in our earlier study about viewing God, ourselves, and each other, from God's view. Remember, "that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us".
It means that with the help of the Holy Spirit we perceive things from God's reasoning and with the TRUTH about... "evil", for one thing. We have learned that everyone has the capacity to do wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. Nothing can happen to us that God has not allowed, for whatever reason He chooses. We also know that this is what God is asking us to do and that He would not do that unless He believed that we were capable of doing it. Further, it is important to remember that He understands what it means to experience EVIL.
Whether you watch "The Passion of Christ", by Mel Gibson, or you have actually studied the way Roman Soldiers typically tortured and crucified people, you know that Christ (who is also God) knows what evil feels like. Now, these verses may not be trying to prepare us for that much evil (although it is ALL inclusive), lets just consider (for starters) people cutting you off in traffic, emptying the milk carton and leaving the container in the refrigerator.
Love, (AGAPE LOVE) takes no account for things such as that too. Give it a try, start small, practice, set your mind to live this way every day. At some point, you'll notice that forgiveness will seldom be an issue.
I remember it was on this element of love that the Spirit drew me further down in this chapter to verse 11, about "growing up". This verse had always seemed out of place, here in the teaching about love. Now, I know that this verse applies to the whole teaching on love, but again, it was this "taking no account of evil" that brought verse 11 into focus.
Here is what I mean. Early in my journey with the Holy Spirit, whenever I would get my feelings hurt by people (even Christians) the Spirit of God would urge me to forgive them. The more that Love developed within me, I learned more about the nature of people, the nature of evil, and the Truth from God's Word and now I "rarely" (I can't say never) even account for what people might do or say to me.
Spiritually speaking, when I was a child, I forgave people for hurting me, but as I matured, I no longer account for wrong done to me.
Ok, enough about that, let's look more into the nature of this "evil" that Love, "takes NO account of". Isn't it true that we were born into a fallen world. Beside the fact that the nature of man and the earth too are in a fallen state because of sin, we also have an evil, powerful, devil that is temporarily loose on this world we live in. But it is also true that God never meant for it to be this way. It is also true that Satan is NOT totally FREE to do what he wants. These are some of the truths underpinning my "way of reasoning" now. Like a pawn in a chess game, God uses the wiles of this evil to fulfill His plan.
Just like Job, there is the fallen conditions of this world that we (like Jesus) must endure. And, just like Job, God will only allow Satan to do but so much to us. One more truth (out of a whole bible full) and I'll move on. Even if God allows enough evil to end my life today, I will immediately be with Him. Now, just with these few considerations that I've mentioned here, Why WOULD love account for evil done to it.
Oh, my friends, I hope you're getting this today. You can do this, with God's help, of course. Most importantly, you will show God that you are trying to do the most important thing to Him.
Think about this too, often, we perceive that someone wronged us as an attack on us personally, when the truth is, they were only thinking of themselves. Regardless, if they were or not, the issue is what God is doing in or with that situation. He (God) is not doing the evil (Please, understand this) but has allowed it for a purpose. There is an example of one of the ways these experiences work in the 1st chapter of Job.
"6.Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them. 7.And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and for on the earth and from walking up and down on it. 8.And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]? 9.Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing? 10.Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11.But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face. 12.And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord."
Now, if you know the rest of this story, you know that Job suffers greatly from the events following this scene we just read. I wanted you to hear, whom is doing the evil (in this case Satan and his underlings) and who allowed "specific" things for Satan to do.
But as you continue in Jobs' story we see that ultimately God turns the evil thing that Satan did into "ultimately" blessings.
10. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the [distressing] calamities that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and every man an earring of gold.
12. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
13. He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14. And he called the name of the first Jerimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.
15. And in all the land there were no women so fair as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.
16. After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even to four generations.
17. So Job died, an old man and full of days.
Trusting God, and relying on His Word when evil is done against us, we need not worry nor account for it. God is "Ultimately" still in control.
I hope you believe that today, my friends.
I love you.
Now in keeping within the context that this verse is in, we are talking about how LOVE, TAKES NO ACCOUNT OF THE EVIL DONE TO IT, another way to put it is that, LOVE PAYS NO ATTENTION TO A SUFFERED WRONG. WOW, can this be true. Well, it's right here in God's word, and if we have searched the scripture like we just did, its there, just as clear as day. So, what does this mean, in layman's terms. Well, It all goes back to what we discussed in our earlier study about viewing God, ourselves, and each other, from God's view. Remember, "that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us".
It means that with the help of the Holy Spirit we perceive things from God's reasoning and with the TRUTH about... "evil", for one thing. We have learned that everyone has the capacity to do wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. Nothing can happen to us that God has not allowed, for whatever reason He chooses. We also know that this is what God is asking us to do and that He would not do that unless He believed that we were capable of doing it. Further, it is important to remember that He understands what it means to experience EVIL.
Whether you watch "The Passion of Christ", by Mel Gibson, or you have actually studied the way Roman Soldiers typically tortured and crucified people, you know that Christ (who is also God) knows what evil feels like. Now, these verses may not be trying to prepare us for that much evil (although it is ALL inclusive), lets just consider (for starters) people cutting you off in traffic, emptying the milk carton and leaving the container in the refrigerator.
Love, (AGAPE LOVE) takes no account for things such as that too. Give it a try, start small, practice, set your mind to live this way every day. At some point, you'll notice that forgiveness will seldom be an issue.
I remember it was on this element of love that the Spirit drew me further down in this chapter to verse 11, about "growing up". This verse had always seemed out of place, here in the teaching about love. Now, I know that this verse applies to the whole teaching on love, but again, it was this "taking no account of evil" that brought verse 11 into focus.
Here is what I mean. Early in my journey with the Holy Spirit, whenever I would get my feelings hurt by people (even Christians) the Spirit of God would urge me to forgive them. The more that Love developed within me, I learned more about the nature of people, the nature of evil, and the Truth from God's Word and now I "rarely" (I can't say never) even account for what people might do or say to me.
Spiritually speaking, when I was a child, I forgave people for hurting me, but as I matured, I no longer account for wrong done to me.
Ok, enough about that, let's look more into the nature of this "evil" that Love, "takes NO account of". Isn't it true that we were born into a fallen world. Beside the fact that the nature of man and the earth too are in a fallen state because of sin, we also have an evil, powerful, devil that is temporarily loose on this world we live in. But it is also true that God never meant for it to be this way. It is also true that Satan is NOT totally FREE to do what he wants. These are some of the truths underpinning my "way of reasoning" now. Like a pawn in a chess game, God uses the wiles of this evil to fulfill His plan.
Just like Job, there is the fallen conditions of this world that we (like Jesus) must endure. And, just like Job, God will only allow Satan to do but so much to us. One more truth (out of a whole bible full) and I'll move on. Even if God allows enough evil to end my life today, I will immediately be with Him. Now, just with these few considerations that I've mentioned here, Why WOULD love account for evil done to it.
Oh, my friends, I hope you're getting this today. You can do this, with God's help, of course. Most importantly, you will show God that you are trying to do the most important thing to Him.
Think about this too, often, we perceive that someone wronged us as an attack on us personally, when the truth is, they were only thinking of themselves. Regardless, if they were or not, the issue is what God is doing in or with that situation. He (God) is not doing the evil (Please, understand this) but has allowed it for a purpose. There is an example of one of the ways these experiences work in the 1st chapter of Job.
"6.Now there was a day when the sons (the angels) of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also came among them. 7.And the Lord said to Satan, From where did you come? Then Satan answered the Lord, From going to and for on the earth and from walking up and down on it. 8.And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from and shuns evil [because it is wrong]? 9.Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job [reverently] fear God for nothing? 10.Have You not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have conferred prosperity and happiness upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11.But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face. 12.And the Lord said to Satan (the adversary and the accuser), Behold, all that he has is in your power, only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord."
Now, if you know the rest of this story, you know that Job suffers greatly from the events following this scene we just read. I wanted you to hear, whom is doing the evil (in this case Satan and his underlings) and who allowed "specific" things for Satan to do.
But as you continue in Jobs' story we see that ultimately God turns the evil thing that Satan did into "ultimately" blessings.
10. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the [distressing] calamities that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money, and every man an earring of gold.
12. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
13. He had also seven sons and three daughters.
14. And he called the name of the first Jerimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.
15. And in all the land there were no women so fair as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers.
16. After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his sons' sons, even to four generations.
17. So Job died, an old man and full of days.
Trusting God, and relying on His Word when evil is done against us, we need not worry nor account for it. God is "Ultimately" still in control.
I hope you believe that today, my friends.
I love you.
Love Is Not Self-Seeking
Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking.Of the definitions I've given in this study of Love, this is one I probably don't need to give. But for the record, self-seeking means:
Concerned only with oneself: egocentric, egoistic, egoistical, egomaniacal, egotistic, egotistical, self-absorbed, self-centered, self-involved, selfish, self-serving, or wrapped up in oneself.
In our very first study on this journey through Love, we found "together" in the scriptures that, to Love God and one another is the most important thing to God. Now that you know love is most important to God, then understanding what Love is should be our most important search and here we are in the teachings of God concerning Love. Consider the following also:
"[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]" Philippians 3:10.
In this verse, and many others like it, we see that on one hand our personal relationship is most important... But also what He wants and is doing is now important to us as well. Reconciliation or restoring of the relationship between the Man and God, is what Jesus came and ultimately died for. Putting it back to what God designed it to be... Fixing the lost connection betwween created and The Creator. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption (on the cross).
I cease to be loving when I become self-seeking, only interested in the development of my own needs and desires. I see this is true because, "if Christ committed His life for this cause, and now I have decided to live for Christ, then reconciliation of the human race is now what I want.
Note: Reconciliation is sharing Christ with everyone through being an example of love, witnessing, sharing the good news about Christ, and bringing everyone you can into a personal relationship with Him.
Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body... Bringing those He (Christ) sends us into a relationship with Him.
OK, so, to fulfill God's perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
So, Here is the bottom line... If I Love God then I must trust in and rely upon Him for my needs. If I do that, then I no longer need to be concerned with myself. I can now, Love everyone the way God loves.
Galatians 6, "1BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also. 2Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. 3For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another's load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself."
Love is not self-seeking.
I Love you.
Concerned only with oneself: egocentric, egoistic, egoistical, egomaniacal, egotistic, egotistical, self-absorbed, self-centered, self-involved, selfish, self-serving, or wrapped up in oneself.
In our very first study on this journey through Love, we found "together" in the scriptures that, to Love God and one another is the most important thing to God. Now that you know love is most important to God, then understanding what Love is should be our most important search and here we are in the teachings of God concerning Love. Consider the following also:
"[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]" Philippians 3:10.
In this verse, and many others like it, we see that on one hand our personal relationship is most important... But also what He wants and is doing is now important to us as well. Reconciliation or restoring of the relationship between the Man and God, is what Jesus came and ultimately died for. Putting it back to what God designed it to be... Fixing the lost connection betwween created and The Creator. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption (on the cross).
I cease to be loving when I become self-seeking, only interested in the development of my own needs and desires. I see this is true because, "if Christ committed His life for this cause, and now I have decided to live for Christ, then reconciliation of the human race is now what I want.
Note: Reconciliation is sharing Christ with everyone through being an example of love, witnessing, sharing the good news about Christ, and bringing everyone you can into a personal relationship with Him.
Jesus Christ sent apostles and teachers for this very purpose. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body... Bringing those He (Christ) sends us into a relationship with Him.
OK, so, to fulfill God's perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me.
So, Here is the bottom line... If I Love God then I must trust in and rely upon Him for my needs. If I do that, then I no longer need to be concerned with myself. I can now, Love everyone the way God loves.
Galatians 6, "1BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also. 2Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. 3For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another's load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself."
Love is not self-seeking.
I Love you.
Love Is Not Rude
Love is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. The KJV translates "rude" as "unseemly." Paul is simply saying that there are many ways of behaving badly, and that love avoids them all. I want to be careful now, not to be rude myself, in talking about this, because it is such a sensitive area to teach on.
We do have to ask ourselves, a painful question sometimes, like; Am I rude in the supermarket checkout line when the store is low on checkers? Am I rude to my children when they're throwing a temper tantrum? Am I rude toward my husband when he seems distant? Am I rude to a co-worker who just won't stop pushing their agenda?
The thing that seems consistent in each of these scenarios is selfishness. Rudeness usually occurs when selfish concerns are at heart. Being rude means I'm not concerned about "your" problems. We've touched on this "self" issue in some of the other lessons on love and again, here, it lies at the heart of being rude.
It is hardest, early in life, to focus on anyones needs, other than your own. At birth, that's all you knew, you got hungry, you cried, mommy fed you, you wet, you cry, mommy changes you. Its a beautiful plan in the developmental stages of life, it's the way life should be... at first. But later, as you grow, you learn that you can get things differently, more responsibly. Paul, even brings out this point, right here within this teaching on love, in verse 11 of I Cor 13.
11. "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside."
On one hand, we are to be child-like.
Matthew 18:3 "And [Jesus] said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]."
On the other hand, we are not to be child-ish.
1 Corinthians 14:20 "Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men]."
Before, we agree with this and move on, to thinking of ways to be less childish, less selfish, and less rude, we should look at one word back in I Cor 13:11 that will help us to see our error. Paul says that, I "thought" like a child, or I "reasoned" like a child. Our "reasoning" keeps popping up in this study on love, and its never pretty, is it?
Gods' reasoning, however, is what Love is all about. Gods reasoning is what we're trying to percieve, understand or achieve. Remember, we said that, love is that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us). And that Love is imparted to us through the Holy Spirit.
That means that I MUST be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is telling me. Before, I am rude, He will tell me what to do, while I am being rude, He (The Holy Spirit) will tell me, and after I'm rude, He will tell me what to do. It's so much easier to listen to Him early on rather than later, but either way, the sooner you begin to listen to Gods' reasoning, the more His love will begin to come out of you and onto everyone around you.
As I look back on my life now, I see that whenever I made decisions based on "My Reasoning", I took the control of what was BEST for me AWAY from God. I took the steering wheel (so-to-speak) away from the ONE Person (Christ) that actually knew the best course for my life.
Now, I won't argue with you that He used those mistakes to bring glory unto Himself. I'll never forget, In my own attempt to save my marriage, I tried going to church just to get good advise on how to be better... Instead, I found myself asking God to come into my life and save me. And so, I see how He used my mistake at loving, to bring me unto Himself.
I also see how (out of His love for me) God worked out some of the wreckage created by "my poor reasoning". Giving me my children (after our divorce) to finish raising was the GREATEST thing I could have imagined. I know He did that and I thank Him for that daily.
And so, now, with the Holy Spirit within me for quite a few years now, God's "reasoning" about myself and my relationship with everyone else, has changed dramatically. I still make mistakes. I can still catch myself being rude once in a while, but I have changed. More often I catch myself BEFORE I'm rude (Hallelujah).
I, through the help of the Holy Spirit, and the manifestation of God's love, living within me, have been changed. Not of my own doing, my own reasoning, but by Trusting in and Relying upon the One Whom Created Me.
Love is not rude.
I love you.
We do have to ask ourselves, a painful question sometimes, like; Am I rude in the supermarket checkout line when the store is low on checkers? Am I rude to my children when they're throwing a temper tantrum? Am I rude toward my husband when he seems distant? Am I rude to a co-worker who just won't stop pushing their agenda?
The thing that seems consistent in each of these scenarios is selfishness. Rudeness usually occurs when selfish concerns are at heart. Being rude means I'm not concerned about "your" problems. We've touched on this "self" issue in some of the other lessons on love and again, here, it lies at the heart of being rude.
It is hardest, early in life, to focus on anyones needs, other than your own. At birth, that's all you knew, you got hungry, you cried, mommy fed you, you wet, you cry, mommy changes you. Its a beautiful plan in the developmental stages of life, it's the way life should be... at first. But later, as you grow, you learn that you can get things differently, more responsibly. Paul, even brings out this point, right here within this teaching on love, in verse 11 of I Cor 13.
11. "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside."
On one hand, we are to be child-like.
Matthew 18:3 "And [Jesus] said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]."
On the other hand, we are not to be child-ish.
1 Corinthians 14:20 "Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men]."
Before, we agree with this and move on, to thinking of ways to be less childish, less selfish, and less rude, we should look at one word back in I Cor 13:11 that will help us to see our error. Paul says that, I "thought" like a child, or I "reasoned" like a child. Our "reasoning" keeps popping up in this study on love, and its never pretty, is it?
Gods' reasoning, however, is what Love is all about. Gods reasoning is what we're trying to percieve, understand or achieve. Remember, we said that, love is that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us). And that Love is imparted to us through the Holy Spirit.
That means that I MUST be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is telling me. Before, I am rude, He will tell me what to do, while I am being rude, He (The Holy Spirit) will tell me, and after I'm rude, He will tell me what to do. It's so much easier to listen to Him early on rather than later, but either way, the sooner you begin to listen to Gods' reasoning, the more His love will begin to come out of you and onto everyone around you.
As I look back on my life now, I see that whenever I made decisions based on "My Reasoning", I took the control of what was BEST for me AWAY from God. I took the steering wheel (so-to-speak) away from the ONE Person (Christ) that actually knew the best course for my life.
Now, I won't argue with you that He used those mistakes to bring glory unto Himself. I'll never forget, In my own attempt to save my marriage, I tried going to church just to get good advise on how to be better... Instead, I found myself asking God to come into my life and save me. And so, I see how He used my mistake at loving, to bring me unto Himself.
I also see how (out of His love for me) God worked out some of the wreckage created by "my poor reasoning". Giving me my children (after our divorce) to finish raising was the GREATEST thing I could have imagined. I know He did that and I thank Him for that daily.
And so, now, with the Holy Spirit within me for quite a few years now, God's "reasoning" about myself and my relationship with everyone else, has changed dramatically. I still make mistakes. I can still catch myself being rude once in a while, but I have changed. More often I catch myself BEFORE I'm rude (Hallelujah).
I, through the help of the Holy Spirit, and the manifestation of God's love, living within me, have been changed. Not of my own doing, my own reasoning, but by Trusting in and Relying upon the One Whom Created Me.
Love is not rude.
I love you.
Love Is Not Conceited
Love is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride) (ou physiOUtai) Original Greek Definition: To inflate, blow or puff up. In the NT spoken only figuratively of pride or self-conceit. Also from phySAo-:emphySAo- (1720), to breathe on, blow on.
Before we get into this section of Love, I wanted to share something from Calvin. "Nothing swells the minds of men so much as a high notion of their own wisdom."
We, Christians, know that all REAL Wisdom is of God (from God). Anything that is REALLY Good is from God. So, how is it, that we have to be told that Love is NOT Conceited.
Phil 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
Do we forget the truth sometimes and actually think that we are better than anyone here on this planet? Did your coming to Christ at the age of 36 make you better than the unsaved 24 year old that you can't even say hello to? And where do I get off thinking that just because the Lord has shown me the TRUTH about LOVE, that I might be a master at it... EVER!
Its a really scary thing. This thing CONCEIT must be really deep inside us. Somewhere ugly and hard to find.
When it does surface, its destructive force can cause more damage than you can imagine. Think about this. In order for you to think that you are better than someone... At some point, before, you must have thought you were really special, first.
The Bible calls that PRIDE. So, conceit is the fruit of pride.
This Pride in self leads to presumption, which is offensive to God and man. When men conceive the idea that they are wise, then they are unwilling to look to God for wisdom. They follow their own conceits. Most of the failures in religion and in business come from too high an estimate of one's self.
This was the failure of one of the most beautiful of Gods creatures, Lucifer.... Now Satan. In II Corinthians 12 we find Paul's experience with pride and conceit and a key to getting help with it. Paul explains the meaning of boasting about his weaknesses (12:7-10). Look at verse 7.
"7. To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me."
The word "thorn" shows that he must have suffered from it continually. Many scholars suggest that the thorn was eye disease. The word "messenger of Satan" reveals that his disease did not come from natural causes. It was inflicted by Satan within the bounds of God's permission (rf. Job). Why was it given? To keep him from becoming conceited. Many people who experience mysterious revelations suffer from spiritual pride.
Then they become useless to God and even damaging to God's people and work. NOTE: This was an encouraging warning to me because of the leading of God in my life to share this teaching on love. God loved Paul deeply. So he allowed him a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. We have a tendency to become proud when we receive God's blessings.
At those times, our enemy is not outside, but inside; it is pride. When we receive God's blessings, we have to guard against inner pride, and learn Jesus' humility to the core. Otherwise, we become useless. So, in this teaching from Paul, we see the power HUMILITY has in guarding against conceit and even Gods hand if necessary to keep us from it.
"9. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
After realizing God's way of working, Paul's attitude toward weaknesses was completely changed. Now he wanted to boast about his weaknesses all the more gladly so that Christ's power might rest on him. In verse 10 he said,
"10. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties."
For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Many people boast about their strength, wisdom, wealth and success. They don't want to expose their weaknesses, failures or poverty. But when Paul realized their true meaning, he could boast about his weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the sake of Christ. A spirit of humility and dependence on God. That will help us to Love Gods way.
Love is not conceited.
I love you.
Before we get into this section of Love, I wanted to share something from Calvin. "Nothing swells the minds of men so much as a high notion of their own wisdom."
We, Christians, know that all REAL Wisdom is of God (from God). Anything that is REALLY Good is from God. So, how is it, that we have to be told that Love is NOT Conceited.
Phil 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
Do we forget the truth sometimes and actually think that we are better than anyone here on this planet? Did your coming to Christ at the age of 36 make you better than the unsaved 24 year old that you can't even say hello to? And where do I get off thinking that just because the Lord has shown me the TRUTH about LOVE, that I might be a master at it... EVER!
Its a really scary thing. This thing CONCEIT must be really deep inside us. Somewhere ugly and hard to find.
When it does surface, its destructive force can cause more damage than you can imagine. Think about this. In order for you to think that you are better than someone... At some point, before, you must have thought you were really special, first.
The Bible calls that PRIDE. So, conceit is the fruit of pride.
This Pride in self leads to presumption, which is offensive to God and man. When men conceive the idea that they are wise, then they are unwilling to look to God for wisdom. They follow their own conceits. Most of the failures in religion and in business come from too high an estimate of one's self.
This was the failure of one of the most beautiful of Gods creatures, Lucifer.... Now Satan. In II Corinthians 12 we find Paul's experience with pride and conceit and a key to getting help with it. Paul explains the meaning of boasting about his weaknesses (12:7-10). Look at verse 7.
"7. To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me."
The word "thorn" shows that he must have suffered from it continually. Many scholars suggest that the thorn was eye disease. The word "messenger of Satan" reveals that his disease did not come from natural causes. It was inflicted by Satan within the bounds of God's permission (rf. Job). Why was it given? To keep him from becoming conceited. Many people who experience mysterious revelations suffer from spiritual pride.
Then they become useless to God and even damaging to God's people and work. NOTE: This was an encouraging warning to me because of the leading of God in my life to share this teaching on love. God loved Paul deeply. So he allowed him a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. We have a tendency to become proud when we receive God's blessings.
At those times, our enemy is not outside, but inside; it is pride. When we receive God's blessings, we have to guard against inner pride, and learn Jesus' humility to the core. Otherwise, we become useless. So, in this teaching from Paul, we see the power HUMILITY has in guarding against conceit and even Gods hand if necessary to keep us from it.
"9. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
After realizing God's way of working, Paul's attitude toward weaknesses was completely changed. Now he wanted to boast about his weaknesses all the more gladly so that Christ's power might rest on him. In verse 10 he said,
"10. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties."
For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Many people boast about their strength, wisdom, wealth and success. They don't want to expose their weaknesses, failures or poverty. But when Paul realized their true meaning, he could boast about his weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the sake of Christ. A spirit of humility and dependence on God. That will help us to Love Gods way.
Love is not conceited.
I love you.
Love Is Not Boastful
Love is not boastful or vainglorious. The word boastful in the original language was: perpeREUomai (4068) Origin: Mid. deponent from PERperos, braggart. It means: 1. to speak with exaggeration and excessive pride, esp. about oneself. 2.to speak with pride (often fol. by of): He boasted of his family's wealth. –verb (used with object) 3.to speak of with excessive pride or vanity: He boasts himself a genius. 4.to be proud in the possession of: The town boasts a new school. –noun 5.a thing boasted of; a cause for pride: Talent is his boast. It is her boast that she has never betrayed a friend. 6.exaggerated or objectionable speech; bragging: empty boasts and threats.
Why is "NOT boasting" popping up relative to love? At first glance, even the definition has some pretty bad words in it, like pride, proud, excessive, and vanity. If anything, these words certainly describe someone who loves themself.
Being careful not to be boastful in helping us to understand "This Thing Called Love", I waited for the Spirit of Love to rise up within me and give me the right thing to say here.
First, I was given this verse to dwell on.
1 Corinthians 4:6 "In writing this much, brethren, with special reference to Apollos and myself, I have done so for your sakes, in order to teach you by our example what those words mean, which say, 'Nothing beyond what is written!' --so that you may cease to take sides in boastful rivalry, for one teacher against another."
Paul actually uses REVERSE BOASTING throughout his ministry. What I mean is, he boasts in the negative. This is something very important to you and I. Rather than walking close to the edge of the cliff of boasting, Paul puts himself FAR AWAY from this dangerous edge by bragging about his "weakness."
Second, Paul keeps only to the Word of God. We may never know what his "personal opinion" was because he knew it paled compared to the Word of God. "Nothing beyond what is written!"
Paul knew the truth, God's Word which also keeps us from boasting. On the flip side, our ignorance of the truth can result in pride, vanity, and boasting.
FOR EXAMPLE: Do you know that if God allowed him to (for whatever purpose He sees fitting) that Satan could pull down your house in an instant? So, why do you boast about your big strong home? It happens every day my friend.
Hidden within the parable Jesus tells us in Luke Chapt 12 is a picture of the futility and vanity of boasting about the blessings that truly come from, belong to, and are, ultimately under God's authority and power. See if you can hear it.
"16 Then He (Jesus) told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was fertile and yielded plentifully. 17 And he considered and debated within himself, What shall I do? I have no place [in which] to gather together my harvest. 18 And he said, I will do this: I will pull down my storehouses and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain or produce and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many good things laid up, [enough] for many years. Take your ease; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself merrily. 20 But God said to him, You fool! This very night they [the messengers of God] will demand your soul of you; and all the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? 21 So it is with the one who continues to lay up and hoard possessions for himself and is not rich [in his relation] to God [this is how he fares]" Luke 12:16-21.
Here is a picture of someone who clearly does not live as though God has anything to do with their blessings, how they should live, or even how long they will live. The point I am making here, really is, what do we have to boast about, knowing what we learned from God's Word.
In reality, I came into this world with nothing and I will leave the same way. The book of Solomon is a great boast-buster if you struggle with this problem.
The truth I've learned about myself is really sad, and the truth I've learned about God is awesome. How silly it feels to boast about anything.
More importantly though, is the harm boasting can be to those around me. Boasting is a disregard for the feelings of others. Concerning Love, this boasting reveals the true condition of our hearts.
James 3:5 "In the same way the tongue is an insignificant part of the body, but it is immensely boastful. Remember how a mere spark may set a vast forest in flames."
My wanting everyone to know that I received the promotion is inconsiderate of those who might have worked harder and longer than I did. For some, the extra money could have saved them from foreclosure, bankruptcy, and who knows what else. How painful was it for them to hear me boasting in myself. God knows and it hurts Him also.
Boasting reveals the heart of each of us. Keeping a proper, more humble perspective of ourselves, keeping far away from the cliff of boasting (reverse boasting), and keeping close to God's truth will help us to be more loving.
James 4:13 "Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. 14Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. 15You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. 16But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong."
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
I hope this word will help you today, my friends.
Love is not boastful or vainglorious.
I love you.
Why is "NOT boasting" popping up relative to love? At first glance, even the definition has some pretty bad words in it, like pride, proud, excessive, and vanity. If anything, these words certainly describe someone who loves themself.
Being careful not to be boastful in helping us to understand "This Thing Called Love", I waited for the Spirit of Love to rise up within me and give me the right thing to say here.
First, I was given this verse to dwell on.
1 Corinthians 4:6 "In writing this much, brethren, with special reference to Apollos and myself, I have done so for your sakes, in order to teach you by our example what those words mean, which say, 'Nothing beyond what is written!' --so that you may cease to take sides in boastful rivalry, for one teacher against another."
Paul actually uses REVERSE BOASTING throughout his ministry. What I mean is, he boasts in the negative. This is something very important to you and I. Rather than walking close to the edge of the cliff of boasting, Paul puts himself FAR AWAY from this dangerous edge by bragging about his "weakness."
Second, Paul keeps only to the Word of God. We may never know what his "personal opinion" was because he knew it paled compared to the Word of God. "Nothing beyond what is written!"
Paul knew the truth, God's Word which also keeps us from boasting. On the flip side, our ignorance of the truth can result in pride, vanity, and boasting.
FOR EXAMPLE: Do you know that if God allowed him to (for whatever purpose He sees fitting) that Satan could pull down your house in an instant? So, why do you boast about your big strong home? It happens every day my friend.
Hidden within the parable Jesus tells us in Luke Chapt 12 is a picture of the futility and vanity of boasting about the blessings that truly come from, belong to, and are, ultimately under God's authority and power. See if you can hear it.
"16 Then He (Jesus) told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was fertile and yielded plentifully. 17 And he considered and debated within himself, What shall I do? I have no place [in which] to gather together my harvest. 18 And he said, I will do this: I will pull down my storehouses and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain or produce and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many good things laid up, [enough] for many years. Take your ease; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself merrily. 20 But God said to him, You fool! This very night they [the messengers of God] will demand your soul of you; and all the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? 21 So it is with the one who continues to lay up and hoard possessions for himself and is not rich [in his relation] to God [this is how he fares]" Luke 12:16-21.
Here is a picture of someone who clearly does not live as though God has anything to do with their blessings, how they should live, or even how long they will live. The point I am making here, really is, what do we have to boast about, knowing what we learned from God's Word.
In reality, I came into this world with nothing and I will leave the same way. The book of Solomon is a great boast-buster if you struggle with this problem.
The truth I've learned about myself is really sad, and the truth I've learned about God is awesome. How silly it feels to boast about anything.
More importantly though, is the harm boasting can be to those around me. Boasting is a disregard for the feelings of others. Concerning Love, this boasting reveals the true condition of our hearts.
James 3:5 "In the same way the tongue is an insignificant part of the body, but it is immensely boastful. Remember how a mere spark may set a vast forest in flames."
My wanting everyone to know that I received the promotion is inconsiderate of those who might have worked harder and longer than I did. For some, the extra money could have saved them from foreclosure, bankruptcy, and who knows what else. How painful was it for them to hear me boasting in myself. God knows and it hurts Him also.
Boasting reveals the heart of each of us. Keeping a proper, more humble perspective of ourselves, keeping far away from the cliff of boasting (reverse boasting), and keeping close to God's truth will help us to be more loving.
James 4:13 "Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. 14Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. 15You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. 16But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong."
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
I hope this word will help you today, my friends.
Love is not boastful or vainglorious.
I love you.
Love Is Kind
Like patience, kindness also comes into the Christian by grace, through the Holy Spirit. It is the fruit of God's Love, now abiding in us, as a result of our decision to trust in and rely upon Him. Kindness is produced in us by the Holy Spirit in seasons of spiritual growth. This growth is the result of the love that the Holy Spirit brings into us and our growing knowledge of GOD'S truth, (His WORD).
As the TRUTH about ourselves and each other is revealed to us (we are all sinners, created equal, loved by God, all part of one body, etc...), this "love" will manifest itself in us in the form of kindness. The Bible sets the pattern for all kindness in the behavior of God, and in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. God gives sunshine and rain, fruitful seasons and glad hearts, food and all that is good to the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).
He manifests His ever-present mercy, love and grace through the life of Jesus Christ, who set an example for us. God is reproducing His character attribute in us, as we grow in our new lives as Christians. The word Kindness, listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit in (Galatians 5:22), is from the original word "chrestotes" and is also translated as gentleness. Chrestotes denotes goodness of heart, kindness, graciousness, and includes gentleness.
Kindness has many synonyms: benevolence, generosity, mercy, charity, philanthropy, sympathy, compassion, tenderheartedness, friendliness, etc. Kindness is a major attribute of moral excellence and works in harmony with the other fruit of the Spirit. Chrestotes is translated as "goodness" in Romans 2:4 and 11:22 (3 times), so chrestotes is love in tender action, a quality of goodness, and certainly requires gentleness in word and action. In John 1:14, we find one of the greatest acts of kindness.
"And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth" John 1:14.
Kindness will not manifest itself in your mind.. Such as the thought YOU might generate toward "showing kindness". These kinds of kindness are the fruit of sin... Often referred to as the deeds of the flesh. "True" kindness will be manifested by The Spirit. It may wake you at 2am... It doesn't always make sense... And it just won't go away until it is done... And you may not think you have the strength nor the resources to do it. But, real kindness (as the result of LOVE ABIDING IN US) will come from the Holy Spirit.
Our Father in Heaven will know us by our fruit.
Finally, I leave you with this little story:
As the bus slowed down at the crowded bus stop, the Pakistani bus conductor leaned from the platform and called out, "Six only!" The bus stopped. He counted on six passengers, rang the bell, and then, as the bus moved off, called to those left behind: "So sorry, plenty of room in my heart - but the bus is full." He left behind a row of smiling faces. It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it. ~ The Friendship Book of Francis Gay, 1977
I love you my Friends.
As the TRUTH about ourselves and each other is revealed to us (we are all sinners, created equal, loved by God, all part of one body, etc...), this "love" will manifest itself in us in the form of kindness. The Bible sets the pattern for all kindness in the behavior of God, and in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. God gives sunshine and rain, fruitful seasons and glad hearts, food and all that is good to the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).
He manifests His ever-present mercy, love and grace through the life of Jesus Christ, who set an example for us. God is reproducing His character attribute in us, as we grow in our new lives as Christians. The word Kindness, listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit in (Galatians 5:22), is from the original word "chrestotes" and is also translated as gentleness. Chrestotes denotes goodness of heart, kindness, graciousness, and includes gentleness.
Kindness has many synonyms: benevolence, generosity, mercy, charity, philanthropy, sympathy, compassion, tenderheartedness, friendliness, etc. Kindness is a major attribute of moral excellence and works in harmony with the other fruit of the Spirit. Chrestotes is translated as "goodness" in Romans 2:4 and 11:22 (3 times), so chrestotes is love in tender action, a quality of goodness, and certainly requires gentleness in word and action. In John 1:14, we find one of the greatest acts of kindness.
"And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth" John 1:14.
Kindness will not manifest itself in your mind.. Such as the thought YOU might generate toward "showing kindness". These kinds of kindness are the fruit of sin... Often referred to as the deeds of the flesh. "True" kindness will be manifested by The Spirit. It may wake you at 2am... It doesn't always make sense... And it just won't go away until it is done... And you may not think you have the strength nor the resources to do it. But, real kindness (as the result of LOVE ABIDING IN US) will come from the Holy Spirit.
Our Father in Heaven will know us by our fruit.
Finally, I leave you with this little story:
As the bus slowed down at the crowded bus stop, the Pakistani bus conductor leaned from the platform and called out, "Six only!" The bus stopped. He counted on six passengers, rang the bell, and then, as the bus moved off, called to those left behind: "So sorry, plenty of room in my heart - but the bus is full." He left behind a row of smiling faces. It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it. ~ The Friendship Book of Francis Gay, 1977
I love you my Friends.
Love Is Patience
Patience, in the original Greek language was mak-roth-oo-meh'-o Origin: from the same as 3116: patient, persevering, bear long, be long-suffering, be patient, have patience, have long patience, to bear long, be long-suffering, patiently endure.
Patience comes into the Christian by grace, through the Holy Spirit. It is the fruit of God's Love, now abiding in us, as a result of our decision to trust in and rely upon Him. This Patience is developed, over time through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and often a certain amount of suffering.
As I said earlier in our study of Love, God "is" LOVE and therefore patience is simply one of His attributes, a part of His nature. GOD is patient, and cannot be otherwise.
But what does it mean that God is patient?
When we look through the whole (entire) bible and sum up all of Gods nature, it appears that it is the power of God over Himself which reflects the greatest example of patience. God's patience with Himself is even greater than His patience with His creations (you and I).
The bible says that, "The Lord is slow to anger," and then it says, "and abundant in mercy."
Numbers 14:18 "The Lord is long-suffering and slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and loving-kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression."
This suggests that God's patience towards His creatures is His power over Himself. Look at the fallen condition of this world (again). What Human Being would not have VAPORIZED everything for having his creation turned so far away from him?
ONLY GOD can reveal such perfect patience. The power of God is more manifest in His patience to a multitude of sinners than it could be in creating millions of worlds out of nothing; this is the power over Himself. God is Not patient with our sin. Listen to me, my friends, GOD HATES SIN. Therefore He is NOT patient with our SIN, BUT HE LOVES THE SINNERS.
Every time we continue in sin, Judgement HAS to be made SWIFTLY because God is Perfect. That sin is immediately dealt with by the placement of it INTO the BODY of CHRIST. Fortunately God has already dealt with sin at Calvary. This single act of love included the coverage of sins 'FUTURE TENSE'. GODS patience over Himself far surpasses His patience with Man. God has truly shown His patience with this fallen World and even that FINAL moment of perfected patience which He has hidden from even CHRIST will come.
GOD IS PATIENT AND YOU ARE THE OBJECT OF HIS PATIENCE. He patiently awaits the fullness of your days here and awaits your reign with Him through all of eternity. You have been in the spotlight of His affection since eternity past. God is Patient my friends.
You and I are not able to produce this kind of patience on our own. Patience, like any other fruit (or element) of love, is manifested from within the christian by his awareness, attentiveness, (being sensitive to) the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is constantly directing, leading, stirring us toward the right thing to do or say and away from anything else. Our attentiveness and obedience to His leading is critical to reflecting Gods' love outward.
On the flip side of patience is eagerness, restless, and anxious. We know these characteristics reflect a distrust in Gods plan and in His Word.
Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?"
We should be thankful for, and desiring of, Gods' Patience. Trusting the advise of the Holy Spirit in all things would be the greatest example of your appreciation for God being patient.
In the life of the believer, decisions of all kinds run through our mind about how to respond to the world around us. When the Doctors office calls with bad news, our mind kicks in with thoughts of every kind. Being patient would mean "hushing" yourself so that instead of making the decision from your mind, you can make the decision from your heart... from inside.
This takes time to develop this kind of living, because our will is so strong. Your mind keeps calculating all the scientific or practical things you could do, but deep inside you, somethings, keeps saying, "get a second opinion before you agree to that surgery."
Then your mind says, "but you have been with this doctor for eight years now". Throughout the day, reasons why you must hurry your decision and "get this thing going", but still the Spirit says, "get a second opinion."
Sometimes being Patient doesn't make sense to the average person, but Trusting God can save us from so many wrong decisions.
Trust in and Rely upon the Lord today, through Patience.
I Love you.
Patience comes into the Christian by grace, through the Holy Spirit. It is the fruit of God's Love, now abiding in us, as a result of our decision to trust in and rely upon Him. This Patience is developed, over time through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and often a certain amount of suffering.
As I said earlier in our study of Love, God "is" LOVE and therefore patience is simply one of His attributes, a part of His nature. GOD is patient, and cannot be otherwise.
But what does it mean that God is patient?
When we look through the whole (entire) bible and sum up all of Gods nature, it appears that it is the power of God over Himself which reflects the greatest example of patience. God's patience with Himself is even greater than His patience with His creations (you and I).
The bible says that, "The Lord is slow to anger," and then it says, "and abundant in mercy."
Numbers 14:18 "The Lord is long-suffering and slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and loving-kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression."
This suggests that God's patience towards His creatures is His power over Himself. Look at the fallen condition of this world (again). What Human Being would not have VAPORIZED everything for having his creation turned so far away from him?
ONLY GOD can reveal such perfect patience. The power of God is more manifest in His patience to a multitude of sinners than it could be in creating millions of worlds out of nothing; this is the power over Himself. God is Not patient with our sin. Listen to me, my friends, GOD HATES SIN. Therefore He is NOT patient with our SIN, BUT HE LOVES THE SINNERS.
Every time we continue in sin, Judgement HAS to be made SWIFTLY because God is Perfect. That sin is immediately dealt with by the placement of it INTO the BODY of CHRIST. Fortunately God has already dealt with sin at Calvary. This single act of love included the coverage of sins 'FUTURE TENSE'. GODS patience over Himself far surpasses His patience with Man. God has truly shown His patience with this fallen World and even that FINAL moment of perfected patience which He has hidden from even CHRIST will come.
GOD IS PATIENT AND YOU ARE THE OBJECT OF HIS PATIENCE. He patiently awaits the fullness of your days here and awaits your reign with Him through all of eternity. You have been in the spotlight of His affection since eternity past. God is Patient my friends.
You and I are not able to produce this kind of patience on our own. Patience, like any other fruit (or element) of love, is manifested from within the christian by his awareness, attentiveness, (being sensitive to) the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is constantly directing, leading, stirring us toward the right thing to do or say and away from anything else. Our attentiveness and obedience to His leading is critical to reflecting Gods' love outward.
On the flip side of patience is eagerness, restless, and anxious. We know these characteristics reflect a distrust in Gods plan and in His Word.
Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?"
We should be thankful for, and desiring of, Gods' Patience. Trusting the advise of the Holy Spirit in all things would be the greatest example of your appreciation for God being patient.
In the life of the believer, decisions of all kinds run through our mind about how to respond to the world around us. When the Doctors office calls with bad news, our mind kicks in with thoughts of every kind. Being patient would mean "hushing" yourself so that instead of making the decision from your mind, you can make the decision from your heart... from inside.
This takes time to develop this kind of living, because our will is so strong. Your mind keeps calculating all the scientific or practical things you could do, but deep inside you, somethings, keeps saying, "get a second opinion before you agree to that surgery."
Then your mind says, "but you have been with this doctor for eight years now". Throughout the day, reasons why you must hurry your decision and "get this thing going", but still the Spirit says, "get a second opinion."
Sometimes being Patient doesn't make sense to the average person, but Trusting God can save us from so many wrong decisions.
Trust in and Rely upon the Lord today, through Patience.
I Love you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)