Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I doubt any of us get out of bed in the morning and say, “I think I’ll pick a fight with someone today.” And yet every day, almost everyone, everywhere in the world, finds themself disappointed with something or maybe even enticed into an argument, which could grow into a conflict.
A shocking statistic I found is that approximately 2300 divorces are finalized PER DAY in America, about 875,000 divorces per year! I wonder what conflict is awaiting you today and how you will handle it?
There are few things I have enjoyed in my ministry journey more than walking a several month, premarital counseling journey with an engaged couple who want to honor God both during their engagement and their lifelong marriage. It’s simply thrilling to watch them grow in their certainty that God has brought them together and help them prepare for a God glorifying wedding ceremony and living their vows for the remainder of their earthly journey together.
In our journey with the apostle Paul, we’ve come to those four verses which are both a wonderful blessing and a dreadful warning. With any conflict I’ve ever been invited to try and help resolve, the root problem is found in at least ONE of the phrases Paul used.
I invite you to read them slowly with me, pausing with each phrase to simply ask this question: ‘How did Jesus live this well’? “Love is PATIENT, love is KIND. Love does not ENVY, it does not BOAST, it is not PROUD. Love does not DISHONOR others, 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.” (1 Cor. 13:4-6) Pause. Do you see how Jesus lived each of these expressions of God honoring Love flawlessly?
The obvious question is… what about you and me? Is this type of love humanly possible, consistently? NO! Not without God’s help.
From the time of His baptism, (Matt. 3:16,17) Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit of God for living a God honoring life here on earth, facing the same challenges you and I face every day! (Heb. 2:14-18) Frequently, Jesus stepped aside from the busyness of His life to spend time with God the Father, seeking guidance from His Father, making sure Jesus was living His life in full obedience to, and alignment with God the Father. (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Matt. 14:23)
Remember, Jesus, God the Son, was sent here to earth by God the Father for a very specific purpose: making God’s truth clear and becoming the atonement sacrifice, which would make God’s Redemption Plan possible for a sinful human race destined to spend eternity apart from God, because of our rebellion against God.
But watch this my friends. If 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is God’s design for God honoring LOVE, and Jesus lived this LOVE every day, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and the same Holy Spirit lives within Jesus redeemed Christians today, then YES, this God honoring LOVE is possible for us to live! Really? YES! And if we are not, why not? Can we identify where we fall short of this God honoring love, and can we discern WHY?
Oh, it’s really not that difficult of a question is it my friends? Remember that old song “turn your eyes upon Jesus…and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”? There it is. The FOCUS and CONDITION of my heart and mind will determine the type of LOVE I live and give!
That’s why David cried out “Create in me a clean heart O God…” (Ps. 51:10) We are naturally selfish, sinful human beings, and yet God style love is SELFLESS love! In fact it’s more than selfless, 1 Cor. 13:4-7 love is God honoring love. It is attitudes and actions which are holy Worship of Holy God!
If you’ll take a close look at each of those phrases, you’ll see each phrase provides an opportunity for any Holy Spirit indwelt person to honor God and worship Him very practically! “Love is Patient, Love is Kind, Love does not Envy, Love keeps no record of wrongs…”, etc. Do you see how each phrase is an invitation, an opportunity, a choice? There are so many, many Scriptures which teach us HOW to live like Jesus did, right?
Most of Psalm 119 is rooted here, did you know that? Do you spend much time in that wonderful, the longest of all the Psalms! Oh I urge you to, it will keep your eyes on Jesus and help you live this type of love!
Paul then called the Corinthian Christians to look closely at the power, influence and impact of this Jesus style love when lived CONSISTENTLY: “Love always PROTECTS, always TRUSTS, always HOPES, always PERSEVERES. Love never FAILS.” (1 Cor. 13:7) Is that a true statement, my friends, as you consider the earthly life of Jesus Christ who modeled God’s love for all to see and experience? YES! Absolutely yes.
Jesus never once wavered in consistently living God style love even in the face of abandonment by His disciples, who ran when Judas arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane with a mob to arrest Him. (Matt. 26:56)
Nor when Jesus was denied three times by one of His most enthusiastic disciples, Peter. (Matt. 26:69-75) Nor when Jesus was rejected, maligned, mocked and even spit upon by Jewish leaders who should have honored Him. (Matt. 26:57-67) Nor even when Jesus was flogged and crucified by Roman soldiers. (Matt. 27:27-54) Do you remember Jesus even prayed over them, asking His Father to forgive them?! (Luke 23:34)
Now we need to pause for deep reflection my friends. We’ve all heard people say it is unfair to compare ourselves to Jesus, for He is God the Son. But if it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus lived his life as He did, when He had taken on human flesh to live among us, and that very same Holy Spirit lives in men and women radically delivered from our sin bondage by crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ, then isn’t it God’s desire that we seek the Holy Spirit’s same guidance and power enabling us to live God’s love in the same way Jesus did?
Can you and I identify whatever it is that restrains us from that? Will we reject that restraint and pursue the ‘vine and branches’ relationship Jesus urged His disciples to live with Him, (John 15:1-8) so that this Holy Spirit Love will be our experience too?
The ‘lessons learned’ study notes will be very helpful to us as we dig more deeply into this very important challenge, and a wonderful worship song will draw our hearts to Jesus, and I’ll be here waiting for you tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: 1 Cor. 13:4-7
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.