Choosing Love

Matthew 5:38-48 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.   There’s a lot about the kingdom of heaven that doesn’t make sense to our earthly way of thinking. For example, today’s passage says, “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also” (v. 39). Who wants to do that? And while we learned yesterday that God loves us, we also saw there’s nothing we can do to earn or deserve His love. In fact, we’re now going to see how to extend that love to others. There’s a lot of talk about rights these days, but instead of focusing on ourselves, we should do what Jesus did—lay down our rights so we can take up the cause of a holy kingdom. In short, instead of focusing on ourselves, we should be more concerned about showing God’s love to those around us—even to those who are doing wrong. Keep in mind that Jesus said, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you … For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same?” (vv. 44-46). Before assuming that Jesus’ capacity for forgiveness and love is out of reach for mere human beings, remember: His Holy Spirit dwells in believers. As a result, God’s love works through us. You can’t lose when you show others the boundless care and compassion of the Lord.

The Power of Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; Today’s passage tells us that love doesn’t “rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (v. 6). In other words, God doesn’t want His children to turn a blind eye to sin. Yet at the same time, Christians are to look for ways to help unbelievers discover the Father’s love for them. The Lord lovingly created each of us, and even though we’re all sinners who have fallen short, we have the potential to be made into something good. He considers even the most evil and corrupt person worth saving. How do we know this is true? Because in the first verse we teach our school children, Christ said that whoever believes in His Son will have eternal life (“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16). And why would He do this? The answer’s in the same Because God loves us. There is nothing we can do to deserve His love. God doesn’t work that way. He loves every single person, no matter how awful his or her sin may be. The Lord extends His care, His mercy, and His salvation to anybody who wants it. He keeps no record of wrongs. He loves without conditions. And He wants us to love others in the same way.

Restored by Love

Romans 5:6-11 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. What emotions do you feel when you hear the word sin? Perhaps embarrassment, discomfort, or even shame? Well, there’s a reason why. We weren’t meant for sin or the negative consequences that come with it. Sin—or hamartia in Greek, meaning “to miss the mark”—separates us from our heavenly Father. The perfect union and harmony that Adam and Eve shared with Him in the garden was lost the moment sin entered the picture. Today, many millennia after that painful breach occurred, we still sense something vital is missing. Countless people spend their whole life trying to fill that void. However, only God’s love and presence can adequately address the ache it causes. And that’s why Jesus came—“to give His life as a ransom for many,” rescue us from the power of sin and death, and reunite us with the One who loves us beyond all measure (just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”Matt. 20:28). If you’ve trusted in Jesus, you can rejoice because sin has already been defeated by His atoning sacrifice (and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. 1 Pet. 2:24). And if you haven’t yet made that decision, know that He’s waiting for you to open the door (20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. 22 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” Rev. 3:20-22).

Knowing the Heart of God

1 Corinthians 13:11-13 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Most of us long to feel truly known by those we love. That makes sense because we were created in God’s image—He also desires to be intimately understood and loved by us. Just as you don’t want to be known for only the superficial details of who you appear to be, it’s not enough to simply know about the Lord. He wants us to learn how He thinks and feels, what’s important to Him, and what His purposes are. Of course, it’s impossible for us to completely know His mind. In Isaiah 55:9, He tells us, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” The depth and breadth of His mind is so great that we will never be able to fully grasp it in this lifetime. However, we can better understand God’s heart by seeking Him and learning from His Word. If we desire to walk in His ways, we must first genuinely know Him. Just as we come to know our friends better by sharing experiences together, we’ll also understand God better the longer we walk with Him. God wants you to seek Him with all your heart, and He promises that when you do, you will find Him (And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer. 29:13). So, the next time you’re feeling a need to be better understood, turn to the One who understands you perfectly. Even more importantly, ask Him to help you know Him better.

The Measure of Our Love

John 14:15-24 15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; 17 the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19 After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. 21 The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. 24 The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.   It’s easy to say we love God, but are you showing by your deeds that you love Him? The old adage is true: Actions speak louder than words. The measure of our love is obedience to God’s commands and principles. In fact, Jesus stressed that very point three times in today’s Bible passage (vv. 15, 21, 23 above). This wasn’t a new concept for the disciples either. They would have been familiar with the scriptural connection between love and obedience (I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: Neh. 1:5;  I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, Dan. 9:4). In fact, God has always emphasized that the way to show our devotion is by doing what He says (Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes which I am commanding you today; Deut. 8:11; And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, Deut.10:12; 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.Deut. 13:3-4). Halfhearted commitment can look pretty good to others, but God knows the difference. A preacher could preach a thousand sermons without loving God. And as believers, we may lift hands in worship, support missions, and say the right words. But unless we’re following the commands from God’s Word, the most we’re showing Him is lukewarm affection. Works prove nothing. Loving the Lord means obeying Him. We are wise, therefore, to follow the Lord’s instructions to Joshua—that is, to meditate on Scripture day and night (This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success. Josh. 1:8). Reading from the Bible daily helps us know how to obey—that is the only way to stay faithful and show the Father our love.

Listening to God when You Cannot Pray

Michael Summers A little more than thirty years ago, I endured a series of events that traumatized me. I was angry at God, so angry that I didn’t want to talk to him. However, I did want to hear what he had to say. I hoped that his words would bring reason for my pain, would restore order to replace the chaos. I did not pray for months, but I read the Bible every day, craving to hear what God had to say that would make life make sense. I said that I did not pray, but if prayer is a conversation, perhaps I just was not talking and giving God a chance to make his case. In the end, I prayed fully again. I still grieved, but now I understood better what Paul meant when he said that God told him, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). An endangered psalmist prayed concerning the threats posed by his enemies. He knew that he had nearly died and that the danger persisted. He called out to God, but Psalm 119:89-96 reveals that he also listened. In a recent post, I said that when we pray, we celebrate, we advocate, we lament, and we listen. In this prayer, the psalmist celebrates God’s faithfulness and the reliability of his enduring message. He advocates for his own salvation, while he laments the threat that his enemies pose to him. He also listens. He hears what God is telling him in his divine instructions, his laws. He prays, “Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never for get your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless” (Psalm 119:89-96). This past week, I participated in a Zoom call where participants discussed losses that we had endured, and how lament had played a role both in our grieving and in our healing. When I mentioned the time when I didn’t want to talk to God, others responded that they too had had a time like that. If you too, because of trauma, loss, or illness, do not want to talk to God, perhaps you still can listen. When I could not pray, God spoke to me, as he had to the psalmist before, through his written revelation. I read how biblical heroes had suffered, but survived because they trusted that God would provide. I heard about God’s love through the care that two churches lavished on me, first in Maryland, and then in Tennessee. They walked with me in my suffering and helped me regain my trust in God by being patient enough with me to let me serve how I could while I slowly healed. If I had not listened to God’s message, I likely would have perished in my affliction. Like the psalmist, I pondered God’s word and sought out his answers to what I was experiencing. Like him, I remembered that I belonged to God and I sought out his way. I rediscovered his love in the accounts of his faithfulness with his people, but also in the life and teaching of Jesus, whom the books of John and Hebrews respectively say is the “word of God” and the one through whom God speaks to us now (John 1:1-14; Hebrews 1:1-4). I encourage you to concentrate on hearing God if praying to him just seems impossible right now. Take time to read his word for twenty minutes or more each day. Spend time with people who love God and who love you. Reflect on what you hear in what you read. Perhaps soon you too will talk to God again as you pray, grateful for feeling whole again. • Quotes from the Bible are from the New International Version.

Love’s Hidden Enemy

Childish thinking can block our ability to fully enjoy love.

1 Corinthians 13:8-11 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.9 For we know in part and prophesy in part;10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. What keeps you from loving others? Paul penned a beautiful description of biblical love (4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.1 Cor. 13:4-7) and then concluded, “When I became a man, I did away with childish things” (v. 11). I believe childish thinking is a hidden enemy of loving relationships. When we are young, a mental grid forms in the mind, and we interpret life through it. Over time, that grid changes as some ideas are dropped and others are incorporated. The same is true for us spiritually: As we mature, our mental framework should increasingly be shaped by Scripture—and that includes our understanding of love. Childish, self-seeking ideas of love must be replaced with truths about mature love that wants what’s best for others. Our relationship with God can also be affected by childish thinking. We may believe that His love is dependent on our performance. Or we could mistakenly assume God is withholding love if He doesn’t fulfill our desires. What faulty thinking is hindering your ability to love and be loved? By putting away your immature beliefs, you’ll be freed to experience God’s unconditional love and express Christlike love to others.

Faith Without Love Is Dead

Paul understood that if our faith can develop and become strong, it can also weaken; this is why he encouraged us to do what we can to make sure our faith doesn’t wane. “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13 RSV). The next statement he made can be seen as a separate exhortation, or it can be seen as explaining how one is to hold one’s faith: “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:14 RSV). When we see it as an explanation as to how we keep and maintain our faith, then we learn that love is a necessary element of the faith itself, which should not be surprising because God is love. We can see the truth of this in the way those who engage love find themselves energized by their actions; their great love builds them up and not only makes them capable of enduring great hardships, but it gives them some element of joy even if they find themselves suffering some grave misfortune.

 

Read the rest at: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2022/09/faith-without-love-is-dead/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Best+of+Patheos&utm_content=57&lctg=279498&rsid=Legacy&recipId=279498&siteId=7DF2956C-D2F1-40D4-A777-98E450E58360

The Cost of Compassion

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. 1 Peter 3:8 We often hear, “Freedom isn’t free.” Likewise, we refer to salvation as a free gift. It was free to us, but it was not free for God. His love for us was paid for with the life of His only Son.

Love and compassion always come with a price in time, talent, or treasure—and often, all three. Jesus illustrated the price of compassion in His parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan man who helped the injured Jewish man paid with his time: He interrupted his own travels to stop and help. He paid with his talent: He employed his creative compassion to make arrangements for the man’s care. And he paid with his treasure: He paid out of his own pocket for the victimized man to be cared for at an inn. Jesus’ story illustrates that love and compassion are not free. It will cost something to be compassionate to those in need. Take a moment today to pray for the grace to expend time, talent, and treasure toward those in need. Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world. Francis Schaeffer David Jeremiah

Demonstrate Love

Ask God to show you how to love someone in your world today.

1 John 3:14-18 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. 16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. 17 But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? 18 Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. While growing up, I had several Sunday school teachers, but Craig Stowe is the one I remember most. A few times a month, Mr. Stowe stopped on his way home when he saw me delivering newspapers. He’d ask how I was doing and inquire if there was anything he could pray about for me. And before he pulled away, he always bought a newspaper—for five times its worth. Those brief conversations with Mr. Stowe had a significant impact on my life. I knew he cared about me because he took the time to look me in the eye and make sure I was doing well. That feeling of love is one I try to pass on, even if I have just a few minutes with a person. Believers are called to love one another “in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). You can make a big difference in someone’s life with simple acts of service and kindness—a hug, a conversation, a meal. You don’t have to reach a large crowd; just let God use you to show one person at a time that you care. All it takes for someone to feel God’s love is a little bit thoughtful attention.