God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Today I’d like to talk to you about a verse of Scripture many of us had in our weddings but probably never really understood- take a look:

“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.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

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.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.“(1 Cor 13:1-7)

Below is my paraphrase of that verse:

If I’m a Priest, Pastor, lay evangelist or a professed “nice person”  but do not have love, I am just a noise.

If I am an intellectual giant or have faith to perform miracles but do not show love to my family by prioritizing their needs or find time to help others- I am nothing.

If I work long hours so that I exhaust myself and give to the poor but do not have the time to love-I gain nothing.

Love is patient, kind, not self centered, not easily angered or proud, it keeps no record of wrong. Love in our hearts will find the truth of the Gospel and delight in God. Love never receives joy from evil, cruel conversations, debauchery nor will it take advantage of another. It will always protect, never harms, always trust, hopes and perseveres while trusting in God. 

This describes divine love, the love God wants us to have for those in our lives and it is one of three qualities that we can write on our eternal resume.

“…what is important is faith expressing itself in love.”(Gal 5:6b)

“And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love”(1 Cor 13:13)

The two greatest commandments are to love the Lord with all our hearts, minds and souls and to love others as ourselves.(Mark 12:28) We will never rest with  sustained peace until we take these two commandments to heart. Love is the benchmark of our faith in Christ.

God isn’t interested in our popularity, net worth, how many gold medals, Oscars, Academy Awards, degrees, or even how much money we gave to charity. He is only interested in the love and patience we have shown others and the time we took to get to know Him and walk in His ways- which is an act of love towards our heavenly Father

The Lord made us with a body, soul and a spirit. Our soul, which includes our emotions, intelligence, feelings and the like- is constantly trying to get it’s way.  The Holy Spirit within believers is the aspect of ourselves that leads us to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. These two forces are always at odds.

“The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants…these two forces are constantly fighting each other and your choices are never free from this conflict.”(Gal 5:17)

“For you have been called to live in freedom-not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature but freedom to serve one another in love.” (Gal 5:13)

We have free- will to choose our actions. Do we listen to our selfish, unkind, sinful nature or do we listen to the Holy Spirit?

“So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.”(Gal 6:9)

This unselfish life of being kind and showing love, will bring us peace and happiness, and will bring a sense of importance to the people we are taking the time to love. God wants us to reflect His love in this world -a world that seems to be running short on it.

Upon reflection, I discovered  that I could make some changes on my eternal resume…can you?

” Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn God’s will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom 12:2 NLT)

All my best,

Lisa