Love Never Fails

Love is a choice not an emotion. When we enter into a relationship, especially a marriage, we don’t often understand this truth. Usually we are infatuated with the other person and we don’t really see them clearly. We don’t pick up on the little things they do that annoy us. Certainly in the early part of the relationship we also put up a façade. We show them our good side and hide any deficiencies that might jeopardize the relationship. Then later on, maybe even years later, the façade has come down and the infatuation is gone. We get weary of each other and even the littlest faults can become glaring ones. This is when the marriage is at a crossroads. This is when divorce becomes an option. If you are not a Christian then I get it. You lack the strength to carry on, but if you claim Christ then the Bible says you have the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God is love. This morning I think we all need a refresher on what God says about love in His Word.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, 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.  

If you are struggling today in your marriage make this scripture reading your entire focus. Ask the Holy Spirit for patience. To be married you’re going to need it. Ask the Holy Spirit to remove any jealousy you have for your spouse’s happiness. Ask Him to take away your pride…all of it. Humility will defuse most problems. Ask the Spirit to remove your rudeness. It is rude to talk to our loved ones they way we so often do. Ask Him to remove all anger. Your anger will not help the situation; it will only exacerbate it. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to forget the past, even the immediate past. If you hold on to one iota of what already happened you cannot move forward. Ask the Spirit to let you rejoice in the truth and not to revel in evil.

Make a choice to love your spouse. Make a choice to love them always and forever. If you are a Christian then you are required to keep that vow you made. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love always perseveres.

Marriage is hard. Make a choice today to commit to your marriage and to love your spouse. Persevere in love.

Love never fails. We do if we don’t choose love. 

True Love - What It Really Is

Love. It’s been sung about, it’s been written about in books and poems, and it’s been acted out in movies and television over and over. Jesus said this in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” The main writer of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, tells us in chapter thirteen of 1 Corinthians that unless we have love we are nothing. Yes, the Bible is clear; if we say we are Christians then we must love.

But love is a word and unless we truly know what it means to love then we will fail in every relationship. The way we treat our parents, the administration of our marriages and families, and even in how we relate to God, must be built on a foundation of love. But what does it really mean to love?

Paul, under the blessed inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, spells out exactly what real love is in his letter to the Corinthian church. While I pray that each and every Christian take time to study God’s Word for themselves, I offer a simple look at Paul’s teachings from 1 Corinthians 13.

Please take time to read the letter in its entirety, but first consider these things Paul tells us about love.

First of all love is patient. Most of us are not patient, especially in relating to our children. They are immature and too often we expect them to behave above their level of maturity. But in truth we, as Christians, need to be patient with each other. Most of us are still growing in our faith and are yet children. What about the world? A wonderful Christian witness is the act of patience with others as well.

Love is kind. The English dictionary defines this as friendly, generous, and considerate. Kindness is a wonderful virtue.

Love is not jealous. What this means is that we are to be happy for others when they have things we don’t. The tenth commandment is Thou Shall Not Covet. Who of us hasn’t inwardly seethed when we see a co-worker get praised or promoted? Or mumbled something under our breath about our neighbors when the truth is we just are coveting what they have. It’s hard to be kind to someone we are jealous of. Think about it. Let it go and be happy for others because the Bible says all good things come from God. So when we are jealous we are putting ourselves above God.

Love does not brag and is not arrogant. We all want to be right. And we all want to shove it down people’s throats when we are, especially the people we are jealous of. Humility is a lost trait in the world we live in. But it must become our goal because we are to be like Jesus, who was a walking example of humility.

Love does not act unbecomingly. Other translations describe this as being rude, irritable, and the insistent of things being done “our” way. It does not resent others.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, it rejoices in truth. What this means is that love is never pleased with unrighteousness and sin, but instead love rejoices in the goodness as seen through a godly life.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. This isn’t talking about being careless in living out life and trusting in things that shouldn’t be trusted in. No, it means that when we love then we never give up on the object of our love even when things get hard. God has the power to change all people and all situations. Jeremiah 32:17  “O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” God made all things and He can change all things. Love must exist in this truth. Love must live in the sure hope of God no matter how bleak they appear.

Love, real love, is hard. We must stop letting the world affect how we relate to each other and begin to love as God has designed us to do. Love is sacrifice. It is self-sacrifice. Jesus is the perfect example of love. Romans 5:8 is living proof of this example. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Did you catch that? While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He didn’t wait until we straightened up. He didn’t wait until we stopped sinning. No, He loved us so much He died for us first. Thank God for that or we would all be on a direct path to hell.

But we are not Jesus; this kind of love looks too demanding you say. How could we possibly do it? We can do it by the power of the spirit. Take the time to read Galatians 5:16-25 and make it real in your heart. Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out fleshly desires but will instead walk with Godly desires.

Love is the answer to everything we struggle with. If we learn to love as Paul teaches us to, then all our relationships will flourish.

Peter gives us sound advice in 1 Peter 4:8 saying, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

Yes, those around us are messed up and filled with sin. I doubt that any of us have become perfect either and sin still shows up in us as well. But the answer is love. It covers the sin. But it must be the true love that God call us to exercise in our lives. It must be love that considers others as more important than self. Love like that shall not fail.

Be blessed in love for God is love.

Our Hope in All Things is in Christ – Romans 15 & 16

Having instructed us on what Christian relationships are to look like Paul finishes up his letter to the Romans with a reminder. We must take careful note that we are to become like Jesus and Jesus is the perfect example of how to treat others.

Romans 15:1-2
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

The message should be clear. It is repeated in Philippians 2:3-8.
 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Our hope lies in Christ in all things. Relationships are difficult, as evidenced by the fact that Christians, despite commands against it, divorce at the same rate as non-Christians. This should not be. Even our ministries are replete with strife as just don’t get along. This should not be. But there is hope and that hope is through Christ. We must give each other the same Christ has given us; ourselves.

Romans 15:5-7
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Do it for the glory of God. Do it in the power of the Holy Spirit for in this we find our hope, for God is our hope.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

As Paul’s letter closes he takes time to send greetings to his brothers and sisters in Christ. This reminds us to do the same. To remember we have our own brothers and sisters in Christ and that in Christ we are all joined as one body. He wraps up again warning us about division.

Romans 16:17-19
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.  For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.  For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

Satan is busy. He and his minions are actively working to destroy our marriages, our families, and our ministries. These are tough days but Paul ends with a great message of hope. Jesus is coming back.

Romans 16:20
 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Until then be strong in Christ and seek only to bring Him glory.

Romans 16:25-27
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

The Christian's Relationship to Government – Romans 13

In Romans 12 Paul addressed how a Christian’s relationships ought to be. Chapter 13 continues the theme as it looks at how we are to relate to the governing authorities of man. Living in the days we do here in America I think we all need to carefully consider the truth of what God expects from us. Paul makes it clear.

Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.

The Bible has a pattern of using certain words, words which are very inclusive and absolute such as the word all. Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite examples of using words that are absolute. “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” What makes this promise great is the word all. Live this one out and suddenly faith becomes real in your life. If God works all things out for good then why should we ever be worried or upset? Romans 13:1 is also clear. The word used is another absolute. Everyone, yes everyone must (must is another absolute) submit to the governing authorities.

We don’t like this verse, do we? But Paul gives the reason why we must submit. We must submit because it is God who gave them the authority over us. Next Paul issues a rebuke to those who resist authority.

Romans 13:2
So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.

Paul tells us why we need this authority.

Romans 13:3-5
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval.  For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.  Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience.

Yes, I can hear the response from all of you out there. I know that sometimes authority does wrong and violates scripture. Yes, I am familiar with Acts 5:29. Certainly there will be times we must choose to obey God and that will come against the governing authority. But when we make those decisions we better be very careful we are walking in the spirit and not in the flesh. Each of us will answer to God for all we do and say, so I always fall back on two scriptures when I consider these types of scenarios. Philippians 2:12, which instructs us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:21 which tells us to “test all things. Hold on to what is good.” We must be close to God in studying and knowing His Word and in following the Holy Spirit’s teachings and leading in all things. And we must be sure we have spent time hearing from God through prayer. Just as our freedom in Christ is not license to sin neither are the words of Peter license to rebel against authority. We must be very sure before we act, that we are in God’s will. 

Having begun conversation on how to relate to others and to the government Paul gives us the simple answer to relationships. The key word is love.

Romans 13:8-10
Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  The commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and whatever other commandment—all are summed up by this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

Paul explains love in 1 Corinthians 13. Read that and it becomes obvious that love is the secret to relationships. Sadly even we Christians usually fail to love the way scripture tells us. Our battle with our old nature, the flesh, is the blockade that keeps us down. Paul wraps up with another admonition as chapter 13 closes.

Romans 13:11-14
Besides this, knowing the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over, and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires.

As Christians we must wake up. Most of us have failed to crucify the flesh as we are told to do in Galatians 5:24 which says, “…those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The secret to good relationships is love, but real love is about others, not self.

So here is the challenge. Each day when we wake up we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires. Then our love for others will thrive and they will see Christ in us.