OPERATING IN HIS LOVE

1 Corinthians 13

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (verses 1-3)

The effort or energy that we bring to all situations has to be motivated by compassion if life is to be meaningful. Not only is the lesson - what wolf do you feed within yourself, but does that wolf contribute to The Pack and beyond? What source do you operate from - Love, Hate or Indifference. Jesus does not like the middle-ground. Jesus said to the believers in Laodicea and those whom would take on lukewarmness, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16)

This first section of 1 Corinthians 13 is saying - How I "speak", how I "prophesy", how I "give", and how I "display my faith" is vitally important. For the attitude and the heart of the effort COMES WITH the words or things being submitted. Recipients are sensitive to the How It Is Delivered. So, all of us should be sensitive and considerate when displaying our skills, talents and helps toward others.

In addition, the Blesser, with the appropriate mindset and attitude, receives a blessing. Love is a two-way street. In Loving someone, chances are great that Love will be returned - if not by that person, then through another. Loving someone in anyway, even unconditionally, is its own reward. However, we must sincerely plant or display the seed of love.  

How do we do this? The next part of 1 Corinthians 13 tells us.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (verses 4-8)

Therefore, we must show patience, kindness, rid ourselves of envy, of boasting and show humility. We must drop slandering, seek out others, watch our temper and forgive as you have been forgiven. We must not indulge in sinful or rebellious behavior but get and keep excited about God's Truth. We must Always play the role of Protector, Truster of/in God, Creator of Hope and one who continually Endures.

When we look at the three words - "Love never fails." - we may get a little intimidated. I know, I could never love perfectly enough all the time that my love would never fail. This is why it is so important to consider - What source do you operate from? If you and I operate from God's unlimited and perfect-for-every-situation storehouse of love, then we have no worries. If we feed ourselves and operate only from our own reservoir of love, we empty fast and the love may not last because we do not have the best love displayed - Christ's Love. It is all a matter of Operating In His Love.

YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE

We are sometimes thrust into situations in life where we convince ourselves that we are the only ones that are going through a particular predicament. This is a bad trick we play on ourselves and a lie. First, there are too many people on the face of the earth for the odds of someone, not having gone through the exact or at least similar issue. Second, if you consider all of human history, then our complaining of the “only one” really gets ridiculous.

I don’t mean to discount the feeling itself. I have had this feeling, but it is not based on truth. The feeling is a self-pitty cloud, if you will, that blinds us to what is really happening around us. And if we buy into the lie of exclusivity in a problem, then feelings, NOT based on fact, can arise to complicate matters. Feelings of shame, depression, bitterness and so forth enter into the picture.

The key is to recognize our feelings as our emotional response to what we are experiencing and let them run their course, but Do Not allow them to run us or our decisions about the situation at hand. I know, I can hear many of you saying, “Easier said than done.” While this is true, we have help.

Life is about relationships. We need to learn to lean on those relationships when our emotions may be directing us into making a decision that should have some reasoning included. Balance is needed in the way we think and operate. If the left-side of life gets weighty, we will be pulled off track in that direction. Same for the right-side of life. If the weight of life is in the top of us we are top heavy and will eventually crash and fall. And if the load of life is in the bottom of our daily journey, we can get stagnant and unproductive.

True, we need God with every breath we take. However, He made relationship(s) so that we would trust and rely on one another. We need each other for hearing out our thoughts. We need each other for listening to our heart or emotions. We need each other for the balancing of the two. We need each other to remind us – You Are Not The Only One.

PERSPECTIVE SHIFT

I am who you say I am God. It is time I believe and proclaim over my life what your Word says about who I am. I am free, I am a child of God, I belong in His Family. I am chosen, not forsaken, you are for me, not against me – I am who you say I am. Help me Lord to keep your perspective of me in mind, on my lips and displayed in my behavior.

Lord, help me not to measure who I am or what I can do by comparing myself with others. I recall what you told Paul to share with the believers in Corinth - "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." (2 Cor. 10:12) I realize that this takes the specialness of my offering away. Plus, I don't want to be a copy-cat anymore, I want to be me before you Lord.

Thank you Lord, that in the challenge of Colossians 3:12 to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient - you also tell us what you think about us - "chosen", "holy" and "dearly loved". "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." I like how Mr. Renner says it Lord - "He has personally chosen you; He has separated you from your sin; He respects you as the dwelling place of His Spirit; and He loves you so much that His thoughts are continually turned toward you, causing awe, admiration and wonder to be drawn from His heart. That is what God thinks about you!" (Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, p.429)

In your Name, Lord Jesus and by your Holy Spirit so let it be written, so let it be done.

-me

FOUNDATION OF HOPE

As the hymn states - "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my Righteousness." Christ Jesus is my Right Standing with Father God. All of my expectations, desires and needs are found in the confidence I have in my Savior.

A person needs an event in their life to spark hope, to establish a different perspective worth holding onto. Jesus did that for all humanity, I have just chosen to accept and believe in His compassionate gift of grace. Father God has loved the world so much that He gave His only Son - Jesus Christ - that whosoever would believe in Him would be saved. (John 3:16) 

However, Jesus did not just live an exemplary life for us and die a martyr's death. If He had done only this we would be living for just a good cause and not The Good Shepherd. The Good News is not complete without sharing Christ Jesus rose from death and the grave after the third day from purchasing everyone's relationship gap with Father God through His death on The Cross.

Jesus promised He would return for those who believe in Him as their Savior. In the meantime, Christ delivered on the promised Holy Spirit by sending Him to indwell each new believer. There is a lot of hope here. As believers in Christ we have faith in the completed work of Christ's redemptive actions. But because of His love poured out like this - we have hope in every category of our lives. 

Christ's love and forgiveness is not just glorified at Calvary some 2,000 plus years ago. History and the believer's heritage will always remember those precious days. But Jesus continues to love and forgive us daily in spite of our imperfection. Some hopes we cling to as believers are - sin being demolished, our bodies being perfected, and our relationship with God, each other and nature being the way they should be.

In the Old Testament, time and time again there were events and foreshadows that pointed to The Hope humanity has in the salvation Christ Jesus provides. When Jesus was here, He left no doubt that He was the One to place ALL your hope in - "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6) Now and in the future, due to the Holy Spirit's indwelling, believers should share this Hope, especially in our deteriorating world. Christians will always have The Cross, The Resurrection - Jesus - to refer back to their Foundation Of Hope. 

• "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27)