1 Corinthians 13:7-8 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.
Many people seem to fear God in unhealthy ways. Perhaps some do
not know God allows things to come into our lives with our best interests in
mind. When people know the Lord, they understand He will enable hardships for
their excellence and give them the treatment they need. He wants us to become
more like Jesus. His ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher
than ours. He works in ways we cannot see.
It does not please God to watch us quiver with fear at the thought
of approaching Him with a complicated problem. Instead, He wants us to respect,
love, and follow Him reverently as our caring Shepherd. He knows how to lead us
through any wilderness experience. Only love helps us overcome the enemy within
our sinful nature.
Love does not burn out; It does not wax and wane with
circumstances because it does not depend on human strength. Love does not
sputter in the face of opposition. Love does not grow weary in well-doing
because it knows that in due season, we will reap if we do not give up. Love
does not give in to comparisons with others who are less mature. Love never
grows old and tired. Erotic, family, and friendship love will cease. God’s
agape unconditional love will never end. Love does not stand or fall on human emotions
or perceptions. Love is not a gift belonging to any group of people, any
selected spiritual gifts, or any race more effectively than others. Love is not
gender related. Whatever service or obedience we render, the law cannot exist
if we withhold love. We cannot experience love through humanitarian efforts.
Our earthly existence does not limit love.
The growth chart had slipped from the playroom wall because the
tape on its corners had become dry and brittle. Five-year-old Bobby hung it up
again, meticulously working to get it straight. Then he stood his sister
against the wall to measure her height. "Mommy! Mommy! Sally is forty
inches tall!" the boy shouted as he burst into the kitchen. "I
measured her!" His mom replied, "That's impossible, Sweetheart. She's
only three years old. Let's go see." They returned to the playroom, where
the mother's suspicions were confirmed. Despite his efforts to hang the chart
straight, Bobby had failed to set it at the proper height. It was several
inches low. We can easily make little Bobby's mistake in gauging our spiritual
growth or importance. Compared to a shortened scale, we may appear better than
we are. Only when we stand against the Cross of Jesus Christ, that "great
leveler of all people," as A.T. Robertson called it, can we not think of
ourselves as any better or worse than others. Christ must be our standard for
all things. We can fulfill God's plan without needless distractions when we
resist the temptation to judge others by our standards. Finally, let us not let
others think that they can judge us by their fundamentalist set of rules,
regulations, and policies. God alone is our creator and judge. In
the same way, we judge others, we get judged; with the measure we use, we will
receive that same measure.
No comments:
Post a Comment