Most people do not realize that Paul's chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13, is a continuation of his thoughts on spiritual gifts (Chapter 12). As wonderful as these gifts were, having being given to the Church by God for its edification and the advancement of Christianity, Paul, in encouraging the brethren to "earnestly desire the greater gifts", also exhorted them to a “more excellent way” (12:31). What could be more excellent than the pursuit and use of spiritual gifts? Listen to his argument: "… whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away, but love never faileth" (13:8). The gifts were temporary, but love, in this case, agape love, that "divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love" would never cease, and it is for this gift, above all other spiritual gifts, for which we should strive.
Interestingly, when Jesus commanded us to love one another (John 13:34), it was the same Greek word, transliterated agape, that was used. In other words, love one another freely, actively, unconditionally, and self-sacrificially. Actively suggests the demonstration of our love to one another in tangible ways! Paul expanded on this thought when he gave a description of love's properties and its fruits; "Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth" (1 Cor. 13:4-8a). We could add far more properties, but we do get the idea. It is hard, almost impossible, to love another person that way without the help and power of the Holy Spirit. Yet it is this love that we who have accepted the call to be disciples of Christ, are called to demonstrate.
How important is loving one another in God's way of thinking? John captured His heart when he wrote, "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:7-11).
Have you noticed what I've noticed? He started and ended with the same admonition - love (agape) one another. How are you doing in that area? Can you think of anyone you need to love like that?
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Loving One Another (Part I)
Two of the most profound things about Jesus' teachings were the simplicity of His messages, and how those messages often impacted all the different domains of our lives. The more I read the Gospels, the more convinced I am that amidst the hustle and bustle of life, and the many mixed messages from our pulpits, a good place to go is back to basics. What did Jesus have to say about specific situations in which we find ourselves?
I thought about this as I had cause to reflect on His words, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35), and wondered, what would happen if we all did that? In one incident recorded in Mark, a Scribe asked Jesus what Commandment was the first of all, to which He replied, "The first is ... thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" (12:29-31). The profoundness of the last eight words of His reply is beyond words, yet Matthew took it one step further when he reported Jesus saying "On these two commandments hangeth the whole law, and the prophets" (22:40). Nothing else that we are commanded came close to the command to love God with all our being, AND our neighbours as ourselves. Paul expanded on this concept when he wrote, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Without the love of Christ demonstrated to each other in our everyday lives, nothing we could ever do matters.
Now, I readily concede that some people, for whatever reasons, are very difficult to love. Left to our own imaginations, we would prefer not to be within a country mile of them, yet Jesus did not command us to love only the lovable, or those with who were nice to us. He said, without ambiguity, "Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you: that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven ... For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matt. 5:44-46). I'm struck by Jesus' reason for our showing this kind of love; "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." We should note His deliberate use of the word "disciple", as against "follower". The disciple is a learner, a pupil, whose only goal is to learn from his teacher in order that he may become like that teacher. A follower has no such ambition. As we reflect on this important distinction, the relevant question therefore is, which are you?
I thought about this as I had cause to reflect on His words, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35), and wondered, what would happen if we all did that? In one incident recorded in Mark, a Scribe asked Jesus what Commandment was the first of all, to which He replied, "The first is ... thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" (12:29-31). The profoundness of the last eight words of His reply is beyond words, yet Matthew took it one step further when he reported Jesus saying "On these two commandments hangeth the whole law, and the prophets" (22:40). Nothing else that we are commanded came close to the command to love God with all our being, AND our neighbours as ourselves. Paul expanded on this concept when he wrote, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Without the love of Christ demonstrated to each other in our everyday lives, nothing we could ever do matters.
Now, I readily concede that some people, for whatever reasons, are very difficult to love. Left to our own imaginations, we would prefer not to be within a country mile of them, yet Jesus did not command us to love only the lovable, or those with who were nice to us. He said, without ambiguity, "Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you: that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven ... For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matt. 5:44-46). I'm struck by Jesus' reason for our showing this kind of love; "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." We should note His deliberate use of the word "disciple", as against "follower". The disciple is a learner, a pupil, whose only goal is to learn from his teacher in order that he may become like that teacher. A follower has no such ambition. As we reflect on this important distinction, the relevant question therefore is, which are you?
Looking At Ourselves
Someone once said, "Beware of no man more than thyself", and there's a lot of truth in that statement. Left to our own devices, we're bent on seeing ourselves through rose colored glasses; not as good as we ought to be, but not as bad as the other guy. We're prone to self-deceit, thinking of ourselves to be things that we're not; quick to see that which is wrong in others, while being totally blind to those things which are wrong in us. Our perspective is flawed, and we're woefully ignorant to it.
Yet none of this is new. Solomon reminds us, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes" (Proverbs 16:2a). Bible Commentator Matthew Henry noted, "We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves: All the ways of a man, all his designs, all his doings, are clean in his own eyes, and he sees nothing amiss in them, nothing for which to condemn himself." In and of itself, this is the greatest tragedy because by not recognizing our own shortcomings, we are in no position to ask God to help us to correct them. It's no wonder Thomas Benton Brooks prayed, "Deliver me, O Lord, from that evil man, myself."
Scripture reminds us, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). When we accept Jesus as Lord, He forgives our sins and covers us with His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), but let's not lose sight of the fact that we are who we are, in Christ, because of God's grace. So, as we rub shoulders with others who may be struggling in different areas of their lives, let us think often of our own sin. It is only then we can be lenient to the sins and failures of others.
Have you ever looked at yourself using the Word as a mirror? Are you able to see yourself for who you truly are?
Yet none of this is new. Solomon reminds us, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes" (Proverbs 16:2a). Bible Commentator Matthew Henry noted, "We are all apt to be partial in judging of ourselves: All the ways of a man, all his designs, all his doings, are clean in his own eyes, and he sees nothing amiss in them, nothing for which to condemn himself." In and of itself, this is the greatest tragedy because by not recognizing our own shortcomings, we are in no position to ask God to help us to correct them. It's no wonder Thomas Benton Brooks prayed, "Deliver me, O Lord, from that evil man, myself."
Scripture reminds us, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). When we accept Jesus as Lord, He forgives our sins and covers us with His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21), but let's not lose sight of the fact that we are who we are, in Christ, because of God's grace. So, as we rub shoulders with others who may be struggling in different areas of their lives, let us think often of our own sin. It is only then we can be lenient to the sins and failures of others.
Have you ever looked at yourself using the Word as a mirror? Are you able to see yourself for who you truly are?
Praying For Our Ministers...
In recent times, the Body of Christ in North America has been hit with a series of high profile scandals involving some in high profiled positions. From sex scandals, divorces, domestic violence, financial impropriety, to name a few, these behaviors have been hurtful, not only to those who are victims, but also to the whole Church. These revelations have caused much public comment, not only from those with legitimate concerns, but also those who are its constant critics. All told, it is as if the Church is under siege. Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon. Looking back over the centuries, the Church has both suffered and survived devastating experiences caused by errant clergy / ministers.
In this uneasy environment, it is easy to lose hope. If these Christian leaders, who we assume are close to God, are failing, what hope is there for the rest of us? Yet these difficult times serves as a great reminder for us to look closely at in whom is our faith based. When our faith is based on the Church's ministers, it can be destroyed as their failures come to light. The Old Testament is a great resource in which to find flawed messengers of God, yet the most compelling thing is not so much the messenger, as it is the message. Our faith must be rooted in God and His Word. No matter how many body blows it suffers, Jesus emphatically stated of the Church, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18, KJV), or as in the Amplified, "shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]."
Despite how it looks, God is still in control. Paul wrote to Timothy, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12, KJV). We do not have to lose heart in the face of the scandals and criticism. The Church is still the Body of Christ, and I'm sure He knows just exactly how to take care of it. As we anchor our faith in our Lord only, we are best reminded of the words of Henry Ward Beecher: "The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones."
Let us be in much prayer for ministers who are still standing true to their calling, and while praying, let's also remember those who have fallen; that God will bring healing and restoration, and that restitution will take place where necessary. Regardless of what we may think of them, they are still our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
In this uneasy environment, it is easy to lose hope. If these Christian leaders, who we assume are close to God, are failing, what hope is there for the rest of us? Yet these difficult times serves as a great reminder for us to look closely at in whom is our faith based. When our faith is based on the Church's ministers, it can be destroyed as their failures come to light. The Old Testament is a great resource in which to find flawed messengers of God, yet the most compelling thing is not so much the messenger, as it is the message. Our faith must be rooted in God and His Word. No matter how many body blows it suffers, Jesus emphatically stated of the Church, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18, KJV), or as in the Amplified, "shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]."
Despite how it looks, God is still in control. Paul wrote to Timothy, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12, KJV). We do not have to lose heart in the face of the scandals and criticism. The Church is still the Body of Christ, and I'm sure He knows just exactly how to take care of it. As we anchor our faith in our Lord only, we are best reminded of the words of Henry Ward Beecher: "The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones."
Let us be in much prayer for ministers who are still standing true to their calling, and while praying, let's also remember those who have fallen; that God will bring healing and restoration, and that restitution will take place where necessary. Regardless of what we may think of them, they are still our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
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