Even before I accepted it was the Holy Spirit tugging on my life, I always felt called to first and foremost love others. Along the way, that call got twisted and maimed into doing everything to please as many people as possible. The devil dragged my pure love through the mud and turned it into something God detests.
“You can see that I am not trying to please you by sweet talk and flattery; no, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please men I could not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10)
On my long journey back home from the pig pins, Abba taught me in His perfect timing what it truly means to love. In fact, he doesn’t just leave us to discover it for ourselves, he defines it!
“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. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Now that’s a fairly common verse, and if you just skipped over it because you think you know it by heart, I challenge you to go back and read it slowly.
Your first response to that verse might be similar to mine, where you just nod and you feel comforted by it, but if I’ve learned anything from training camp, it’s that God doesn’t want us to be comfortable so I’m going to challenge you to feel uncomfortable now.
Throughout God’s word, He tells us that the greatest commandment is to love. In fact, at the end of 1 Corinthians 13 it says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” When the Pharisees ask Jesus what the greatest commandment is, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
So wait a second here, ALL THE LAWS hinge on LOVE? So as God’s children, you and I are called to love above all else, and then in 1 Corinthians, love is defined for us.
I’m currently going through Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” and he offers this challenge in his book, and I want to share it with you because it made me feel uncomfortable. Are you ready? (I see you cringing over there. Come on, lets’ do this together!)
Ok, so I hope you’re in the mindset I want you to be in before this challenge. So we are called to be love, and in 1 Corinthians 13 God defines love, THEREFORE, God instructs us on exactly what we’re supposed to be like. What is God calling you to be? He tells us! Put your name in every blank space:
_______ is patient,
_______ is kind.
_______ does not envy,
_______ does not boast,
_______ is not proud.
_______ does not dishonor others,
_______ is not self-seeking,
_______ is not easily angered,
_______ keeps no record of wrongs.
_______ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
_______ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
_______ never fails.
Feel like a liar? I know I do. God’s word can be transforming if you let it. Read it again if you have to, but the plain fact is: We fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Every day we should be striving to look more like love, to look more like Jesus! Now don’t stop reading yet, because I have great news. Like I mentioned, Romans 3:23 states that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, but keep reading, brothers and sisters! There is good news! For the very next verse, Romans 3:24 says, “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
WOW! I don’t know what your response to that was, but mine is constant, nonsensical JOY! Even though we are liars in attempting to live like Jesus, to live in love, we are redeemed by the very one who calls us to be love.
Adonai, thank you for calling us to love and being the perfect example of love for us. We do not understand why you continue loving us even though we fall so short of what you’ve called us to be, but you sacrificed your only son so that we may be blameless in your eyes. May we strive more to be love, Lord. Thank you for no letting us strive alone, for our striving is like dirty rags, O Lord. Thank you for your Holy Spirit helping become more like your perfect son! We love you, Lord Jesus, Abba Father. Amen.
