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.

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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

With Valentine’s Day on Sunday, I figured it would be a good day to write about love.  I feel that in today’s world, the word love has lost so much meaning with many people.  It’s often used for everyone that you even care about.  However, if we look to the Bible for what love really means, 1 Corinthians 13 really defines the love that we all hope to experience. 

The Bible talks about four different types of love, agape, phileo, storge, and eros.  If we were to truly understand the meaning of each love, would we still be as quick to tell others that we love them? 

I thought it would be good to share the meaning of each of these types.

AGAPE - This is an unconditional love that sees beyond the outer surface and accepts the recipient for whom he/she is, regardless of their flaws, shortcomings or faults. It’s the type of love that everyone strives to have for their fellow human beings. Although you may not like someone, you decide to love them just as a human being. This kind of love is all about sacrifice as well as giving and expecting nothing in return. The translation of the word agape is love in the verb – form: it is the love demonstrated by your behavior towards another person. It is a committed and chosen love.

Phileo - This is an unconditional love that sees beyond the outer surface and accepts the recipient for whom he/she is, regardless of their flaws, shortcomings or faults. It’s the type of love that everyone strives to have for their fellow human beings. Although you may not like someone, you decide to love them just as a human being. This kind of love is all about sacrifice as well as giving and expecting nothing in return. The translation of the word agape is love in the verb – form: it is the love demonstrated by your behavior towards another person. It is a committed and chosen love.

Storge - It is a kind of family and friendship love. This is the love that parents naturally feel for their children; the love that member of the family have for each other; or the love that friends feel for each other. In some cases, this friendship love may turn into a romantic relationship, and the couple in such a relationship becomes best friends. Storge love is unconditional, accepts flaws or faults and ultimately drives you to forgive. It’s committed, sacrificial and makes you feel secure, comfortable and safe.

Eros - Eros is a passionate and intense love that arouses romantic feelings; it is the kind that often triggers “high” feelings in a new relationship and makes you say, “I love him/her”. It is simply an emotional and sexual love. Although this romantic love is important in the beginning of a new relationship, it may not last unless it moves a notch higher because it focuses more on self instead of the other person. If the person “in love” does not feel good about their relationship anymore, they will stop loving their partner.

When I read the definitions for each of these types of love, I have to believe that the love Christ had for us was beyond even agape. 

John 21:15-19

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.  Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Thurs Devo: No More Tears

I’ve mentioned before that we’ve been keeping a couple foster siblings some weekends. Well, before they came to our house for the 5^th weekend, the oldest told his foster mom he didn’t want to come and that he would cry for 2 hours. She told him he could cry for 2 hours, but he was going. I didn’t know all this, but at the end of the weekend as I was bundling the boy before getting in the car, he announced to me that he didn’t cry all weekend! No, he didn’t. Maybe he won’t cry most weekends going forward, either!

We aren’t guaranteed a tear-free life on this earth, but in heaven, God will wipe away every tear from the faces of His followers!

Rev 7:13-17   ¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Besides no more tears, what else do you find encouraging or note-worthy from this passage?

Alice

Opening Up Our Heart

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3

There is a saying that vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see and the first thing I look for in you.  Here is an example.  When watching a news or press conference or news report, they always move to the center figure of the story.  At some point during the discussion, the person starts to break down in tears.  At that moment, the cameras focus intensely on them, and you can hear the rapid clicks of the cameras reacting to that moment.  We often see that when a person is retiring from something they have done or a relationship they have had for a number of years.  They talk about how much they loved what they did.  These are the things that bring us closer to the person. It speaks of truth, sincerity, and passion.  Many of us love God openly and unabashedly.  Yet at times in this world, some feel to say it or maybe even display it is showing weakness.  However if we cannot be open and vulnerable enough to show this very act, how can we truly love God and others?

Vulnerability to God means to open up your heart to Him as well as others.  The words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 speak to the very core of why love must be at the center of all we do.  He was speaking of having spiritual gifts and abilities and how they are rendered meaningless without love.  God’s love for us brings us peace, joy, and comfort.  Furthermore, it can also bring us trials, failures, and challenges to grow spiritually.  Our perception of love tends to be the former, and thus, to show it makes us seem weak and vulnerable.  However if we know the latter is also love, we realize that it is also strength and conviction.  Despite our flaws, God shows us love in both ways.  While loving a flawless God is easy, loving flawed people is very difficult, and leaves us vulnerable to being disappointed and hurt.  However if God is to love us in spite of all of our faults and our mission is to follow His example, we realize we must do the same.

As God loves us, we must love others.  Jesus said, “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:20-21)  Furthermore as to the greatest Commandment, “Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)  If we treasure our love for God and others the most, we will have the greatest rewards in Heaven, and that is what matters above all.  How can you be more vulnerable in showing your heart for God?  What steps can you take toward loving others as God loves you?  My prayer is that we show greater resolve for opening up our heart to God and others.   Amen.

Tues Devo: What is He looking for?

(*Authors note…last week I referred to the writer of Hebrews as Paul – that was slip. I don’t have any special revelation about the authorship of Hebrews! I apologize for that error)

Psalm 15 “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.” (NASB)

Hello,

As we go through our lives, it is obvious to say that we get busy and sidetracked. I know that I start to segment things, and align priorities within each segment. The issue becomes at some point you feel like there are multiple top priorities – well, what then? You have to recalibrate with what really matters. If you are anything like me when this happens, you start to look at how those competing priorities might support one another – leading to rationalizations and excuses. We start to tangle together priorities. We can start to think that focusing on other priorities all the time is what we are supposed to do. How do you pull out of this cycle? The answer, get simple. Go back to Scripture and see what it is that is simply required of us. The list is plain – walk in integrity, do righteousness, speak truth, don’t slander, don’t be evil to neighbors. The list goes further – and while doing these may be challenging, it is not complicated.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

RLD Week 1 - Have a Heart for Discipleship

 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

The thing that struck me the most in going through the first week was that we are each disciples.  Believe it or not, this was a foreign concept to me.  I had grown up hearing about the 12 disciples that followed Jesus and calling myself and others Christians, but disciples?  Was I really a disciple?

Yes.  I am.  Maybe I'm falling into that evangelical demographic by doing so, but I'm starting to call myself a disciple of Christ and not simply a Christian.  I think back to some of the classic literature I've read - being a gentleman was something you did and practiced, it wasn't a title lightly bestowed on everyone.  Quite frequently now, the term gentleman is used to describe anyone with good manners, and not someone who truly practiced that style of life.  The same has started to happen with the term Christian.  People will say they're Christian, but do you truly live for Christ?  Do you ache for those that are not following Christ?  Do you keep Christ at the forethought of your decisions?  Do you lean on him for everything - really EVERYTHING?  Do you eat, breathe, and sleep for Christ?  Do you bleed for him?

It's tough to go through that total and complete surrender.  I'm still working on it.  It's a huge leap of faith, and it's a huge commitment.  You will be vulnerable and raw to open yourself up like this.  Even if it's something you're working on, you're a disciple for Christ.  You are a disciple.  Just as the twelve who followed Jesus were unique and different from each other, we too are different and unique.  We are disciples in different ways and in different stages of our walks with Christ.  You are a disciple, just as those twelve were disciples.