Chronicles of Love, Part XIII
"LOVE NEVER FAILS."
Love is perfect. No, that line doesn't exist in the 13th chapter of Corinthians. No, there is no direct quote in the Bible that states "Love is perfect." But the Bible does say that God is Love...and it does say that God is faultless. And if A=B and B=C, then A=C in my dictionary. If the last 13 weeks' blogs haven't convinced you that love is perfect, you've been reading someone else's blog besides mine. And if any of you think you've got all 13 blog themes squarely accomplished in your life, you're selling something. Love is perfect.
So, now what? If Love NEVER fails, and we are an imperfect people, how can we aspire to Love? The local church today often places a lot of importance on figuring out how to "get it right" but we don't know what that means. We work hard to "perfect" things so that we can see the results, and often complain when the final product is sub-standard. This is partly due to a consumer mindset among American church-goers. Sometimes we get caught trying to craft the perfect entree for a demanding public. Take a minute to read this: Church Restaurant Syndrome
I thi
nk the key line from this blog is, "Now, of course people at a church ought to be friendly, and it follows that the atmosphere should be pleasant and inviting. But these should be symptoms of a church fellowship that's infected with the Holy Spirit -- not results of the way we've trained our greeters or painted our lobbies."
My question: Do you truly LOVE THE LOST like that? Do you love God so much that people who don't know Him can see it in you immediately, regardless of what our church building looks like or how well our ministry teams assimilate volunteers or teach curriculum from one week to the next? I am compelled to change my perspective by that truth. It is my opinion that if I truly love the lost, like I should, I won't need extensive training on how to reach them. Christ will reach them through my sincerity and my passion, once I change my mind about the world and about how to love others.
Love is perfect. It is something to aspire to. It is the best representation of who God is and who Jesus Christ is and who He wants us to be. It is the epitome of redemption and grace and the mercy of a powerful, perfect God. God is perfect. God is truly LOVE. True Love is perfect.
Can we aspire to that? Will we? ... well, either way, I'm on to something else next week... post your comments as this series comes to a close.
Love is perfect. No, that line doesn't exist in the 13th chapter of Corinthians. No, there is no direct quote in the Bible that states "Love is perfect." But the Bible does say that God is Love...and it does say that God is faultless. And if A=B and B=C, then A=C in my dictionary. If the last 13 weeks' blogs haven't convinced you that love is perfect, you've been reading someone else's blog besides mine. And if any of you think you've got all 13 blog themes squarely accomplished in your life, you're selling something. Love is perfect.
So, now what? If Love NEVER fails, and we are an imperfect people, how can we aspire to Love? The local church today often places a lot of importance on figuring out how to "get it right" but we don't know what that means. We work hard to "perfect" things so that we can see the results, and often complain when the final product is sub-standard. This is partly due to a consumer mindset among American church-goers. Sometimes we get caught trying to craft the perfect entree for a demanding public. Take a minute to read this: Church Restaurant Syndrome
I thi
nk the key line from this blog is, "Now, of course people at a church ought to be friendly, and it follows that the atmosphere should be pleasant and inviting. But these should be symptoms of a church fellowship that's infected with the Holy Spirit -- not results of the way we've trained our greeters or painted our lobbies."My question: Do you truly LOVE THE LOST like that? Do you love God so much that people who don't know Him can see it in you immediately, regardless of what our church building looks like or how well our ministry teams assimilate volunteers or teach curriculum from one week to the next? I am compelled to change my perspective by that truth. It is my opinion that if I truly love the lost, like I should, I won't need extensive training on how to reach them. Christ will reach them through my sincerity and my passion, once I change my mind about the world and about how to love others.
Love is perfect. It is something to aspire to. It is the best representation of who God is and who Jesus Christ is and who He wants us to be. It is the epitome of redemption and grace and the mercy of a powerful, perfect God. God is perfect. God is truly LOVE. True Love is perfect.
Can we aspire to that? Will we? ... well, either way, I'm on to something else next week... post your comments as this series comes to a close.
Do you truly LOVE THE LOST like that?
ReplyDeleteGood food for thought...
Could we ask the question:
DO WE REALLY KNOW JESUS? (not just as Savior but intimately) If we were really growing in our relationship with Him, we would be experiencing His grace and peace and all that we need, in abundance and we would not be able to help but share Him with others whether with words or not.
Stated another way:
DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW HE LOVES US, HIS PERFECT LOVE FOR US?
When we really get that, it changes us and He flows out of us, even in a smile.
Even though we are His, He doesn't force Himself on us but thankfully, He doesn't give up on us either. So, as we draw near to Him He draws near to us (James 4:8).
It's all about His so working in us that He flows out of us. People don't need us to be nice to them in our flesh, they need Jesus from us and this only happens through the power of the Holy Spirit in us. ("a church fellowship that’s infected with the Holy Spirit")
Right on!
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