Love Wins 2
When we first came into the presence of Jesus Christ, no one explained to us what the consequences would be. No one told us that we would need to forgive others even though they don’t deserve forgiveness. No one told us that we would need to love the unloveable. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul penned these word by the spirit of God about the love of God.
Yea though I speak with the tongues of men or of angels…and have not the love of God, I am become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not the love of God, it profiteth me nothing.
Love suffereth long and is kind, love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. It is never haughty, never rude, never resentful, never seeks it’s own. Rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never faileth.
For now we see through a glass darkly, but when that which is perfect is come, then shall we see clearly for we shall see him face to face. For now remaineth three things, faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.
When we read scripture, we often don’t believe it because it flies in the face of the doctrines of this world. The world teaches that we need to seek retribution for those who have wronged us. Natural love emphasizes tough love and demands just retribution. The world says that we will love God only if he helps us… I’ll love God only if he does what I want him to do. An extreme example of this “reciprocal” love was where the pagans sacrificed their children to their God Molech in exchange for favorable weather conditions to raise their crops. Another kind of worldly love in the book of Job says, “God I love you so much that you should just kill me because I’m a sinner. If you kill me at least I can give up my life in service to you.”
However the love of God seeks not her own. It requires that I sacrifice the rights to my selfish self. It requires that I step back and turn from the desires of my human nature to press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The cross road of life is the cross of Christ. At the cross, Jesus Christ who knew no sin was made the perfect sacrifice for our sins on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.
When a couple comes for marriage counseling, the key to saving the marriage is for both parties to meet each other at the foot of the cross. Surrendering to the Lord’s will is the only way to love one another with the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. If you come to a marriage with express terms and conditions for the other party to perform, there will be no grace, mercy, peace and unconditional love. If husbands and wives treat each other like three year olds who don’t know how to control themselves, the marriage is doomed to failure. The key to marriage is growing up into maturity in the love of God in the renewed mind. In Hebrews 5, Paul says that he will not give the Hebrew Christians the meat of the word because they are immature and need milk like babies. Their strife and contention proves that they cannot the handle solid food of the Word of God. An infant doesn’t know how to control himself…he doesn’t understand the difference between good and evil. The root of evil is pride… wanting to be in control instead of allowing the Lord to work in us and through us to will and to do of his good pleasure.
God said through his prophet Hosea, “My people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewn out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” They believe that the systems of men are the solutions to life’s problems. However the solution to the problem is Jesus Christ. We cannot approach the cross of Christ on our own terms. The road to the cross is a narrow way through the narrow gate. The world, according to 2 Timothy 3, subscribes toa a “form of godliness” but denies the power of God. However, the Holy Spirit works, empowered by believing faith according to the Word of God activated by the love of God.
Read 1 Corinthians 13 twice this week… Meditate on these things, commit thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all. We must crucify our sense of having been violated by the world. For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the life that I now live, I live by the faith of in the son of God , who loved me and gave himself for me.
The fine print about the love of God in 1 Corinthians is the key to living life more abundantly. Giving up my sense of justice and fairness and relinquishing these selfish “human rights” to God will set me free. I forgave and set the prisoner free, only to find that the prisoner was me. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto thee… love one another.”
All that I am, All that I have, all that I hope to be…I give to thee. Lord you are all I need… You are my strength, my provision, my righteousness, my grace, my mercy, my peace, my love. You are my best thought, my portion, my sufficiency, my all in all. Oh Lord, only you are deserving of love. May I love others with your love. Thank you that in loving others I can demonstrate my love for my Lord who said, ” in that thou hast done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
May God richly bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael