Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 3:16

I have been exploring the word John uses, again and again, like other New Testament writers, LOVE!  As a follower of Jesus, I am pondering the meaning of this word, love, or the love of God.

I am finding that it is at the very core of how I relate to God and to other people.  That I know.  But what does that mean?

I suppose that is how the people who read John’s letter thought as well.  So, John, bless his heart, laid it out as clear as crystal, love is illustrated by Jesus who laid down his life for us.  That is the heart of the matter.  It is a laying down of something precious in order to align our whole being with the will and purpose of God, no matter what.  Divine love is not simply an emotion that I carry in my head or heart, it is a way of life, a determination to follow Jesus, to live like he lived, and died.

This love requires a laying down of something I cling to.  As I lay it down, Jesus raises me to life and I follow Him with assurance.

But, as I read the latter part of our verse for the day, I see another dimension, one that really cuts deep, we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  Really?  John begins with how Jesus loves us and concludes with the hard part, that we lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter who they might be.  I can think of no more difficult thing to do!  I like to be loved, I find it difficult to love others like that!

It seems like every assertion of holiness in the Bible finds me short!

Rose buds opening, a thrill, indeed.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I Corinthians 13:6

I am beginning to see that the love that God gives us, his children, is so radical that it is easily dismissed.  That is what I do, by the way.  The love that God gives us does not flicker or change, depending on the persons involved.  It always works the same way!

Let’s move slowly through the text.  Love does not delight in evil.  Even if it is deserved?  Especially so.  I can get so down on another person that there is simply no love left there at all.  That is not at all what the Lord is talking about.  This love does not delight in evil but loves the truth.

Then, the word, always.  Paul uses it four times here.  Does it describe me?  Always protecting, always trusting, always hoping, always persevering.  In one sentence always appears four times.  Does that mean always?  Is there no place to hate?

I leave this to simmer in my own soul and may it be the same with you.  By loving always I cut short the works of Satan.  It is hard to grasp that I should love always, even when I am wired to hate?  That is one of the many mysteries of new life in Christ.  Join me in embracing this truth.

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

I Corinthians 13:13

Faith, as I see it, is believing what God has promised and living in that reality.  I personally pursue faith.

Hope, again, as I see it, is the fervent belief that what God has revealed and promised is true forever.  I rejoice in that hope.  To a great extent that hope is becoming more and more real to me, as I pass through the many rooms of this life.  I can depend on the hope that God gives absolutely.

Faith and hope are marvelous!  What can be better?  Paul does not hesitate to answer that – the greatest of these is love.  Faith replaces unbelief. Hope draws our hearts toward God.  Love combines them all in a very personal way.  “I own what is promised.”  It is not just head knowledge but life shaping knowledge in the grace of God that surprises at every turn.

If I find my faith wavering a bit or my hope not as close as it once was, I rush to the greatest of all virtues – love.  There are no bounds in love, it embraces all.

Lord, may your love be my love, now and always.

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.

1 Corinthians 13:4 – 5

Love is patient – I tend to be in a hurry.  Bless me right now. Lord.

Love is kind – but, Lord, let me decide to whom I should be kind.  I must be careful, now.

Love does not envy – I have faults and some good, I hope.  Why should I envy?  That is no help.

Love does not boast – knows true humility, not boastful, like, look at me!!

Love is not proud – even though I perhaps excel at something.  Pride ruins everything!

Love dishonors no one – not those above or those below me.

Love is not self-seeking – lands one in a cold corner where sulking is the language of the day.

Love is not easily angered – because my very best is a far cry from the perfection of Christ.

Love keeps no record – Never?  I like to compare my good with the bad of others, it is fun.

I think this is an elderberry bloom in Jane’s garden, next door.  It is one huge explosion of life and hope.

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.

1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13

Again, I hear these words, 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.  I read on and then come to this “stopper.”  Love never fails.   The words come sweetly off the tongue!  Nice.  But, my dear soul, what does it mean!

We sling words at one another, or at the whole world and sit back smugly, believing that we did something great.  Then I hear the Lord say, “Words without love mean little.”  They might reverberate for a moment like the sound of a gong does when it is hit.  It startles for but a moment, then that sound fades, making little difference.  Where did it go?  It seemed so impressive when I first heard it or first produced it.

Words fail. Love never fails.  This speaks to the heart.  My heart must surely know if I love or if I am just trying to exonerate myself.

This is Sunday morning. I am about to go to church to sit with others like myself who are seeking the will and way of God.  I am not there to judge others, but to find myself in Christ, thinking His thoughts, loving like He loves!  His love is eternal, mine is temporal.  Lord, help me to reside, continually, in your love!