Do you love me?

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
John 21: 15-17

I find it interesting in this passage of scripture that Jesus would ask Peter three times in a row if he loved Him. As you study out the original Greek and Hebrew of this word love you realize why. In the English language we just have one word for love, but many definitions, or expressions of the word love. However, in the Greek, there are six different words for love with six very distinct meanings and expressions. In the Hebrew, they have three different words for love, each conveying a very different weight and connotation to it. I feel like the original language does a better job of helping us to see into the heart of Peter in this passage better than our current English translation can. 

The original Greek
I wanted to take some time and examine the Greek words used in this passage. When Jesus asks Peter the first time if he loves Him (vs 15). That word love in the Greek is agape. This word carries a unique weight to it because it is the word used in scripture time and time again to describe the way God loves. Agape love is an all-consuming passion for the well being of the one being loved. It is a love that esteems, elevates, prizes, and delights in others expecting nothing in return. It keeps loving when the love is not reciprocated when the one being loved is unkind, unlovable, unworthy and rejecting the love being given. It is an unconditional love that only desires the best for the one being loved and nothing less. Doesn’t that just sound like our Heavenly Father? Agape love is God. That is the very definition of who He is. Agape love is how He loves us! 

Now that we understand the weight associated with this word agape, let’s return to Peter. When Jesus asks “do you agape me?” I can just picture Peter squirming a bit and somewhat getting defensive as he answers… “you know I love you.” But here is where it gets interesting. Peter does not respond with the word agape. He responds with a completely different word for love and he says... “you know I “philos” you Lord.” 

This word philos has an entirely different meaning and carries a much lighter weight than the word agape. It is a word that means brotherly love, a friendship kind of love. It is a fondness or a liking for another person. I read one definition that actually went as far as to say that this type of love can collapse in times of crisis. When I read this it made me stop and wonder if Peter was unknowingly foreshadowing his coming denial of knowing Jesus (Luke 22:54-71) when he said... of course I philos you, Lord. 

If we keep reading Jesus asks Peter a second time “do you truly agape me?” Again, I can picture Peter still squirming and feeling a bit perturbed with Jesus’ questioning… “Yes, Lord, you know that I philo you.” Now, for a second time in a row, Peter did not answer with the same word. I wonder if that word agape had such weight in the original Greek that it was too much for Peter to even speak? 

Finally, Jesus asked Peter a third time if he loved Him, but this time instead of agape He used philo, love of the friendship variety, a brotherly kind of love. Peter again replied with… “you know that I philo you.” Finally, Peter’s answer was lining up with Jesus’ question!

I don’t believe Jesus was trying to exasperate Peter here by repeating the same question over and over again, but I do believe Jesus was trying to make a point. We serve a God that loves us with an all-consuming kind of love, a love that cannot be broken, weakened or taken away. What Christ was showing here is His desire for us to love Him with that level of passion. As I studied this out I found myself asking...Do I really agape the Lord? Do I really love Christ in the manner He desires for me to love Him? God desires an all in composing, all-consuming kind of agape love. Do I even remotely give that type of love to Him or is it more of the friendship variety?
Just like Peter, I can honestly say that I absolutely philo the Lord, but agape Him is a whole new dimension, one that I wonder if I have remotely come close to.  

Call to action
How about you? Do you love the Lord with the weight of an agape kind of love, or does it lean more towards the philo or friendship type? I know there are some of us out there who can honestly answer that we love the Lord in an all-encompassing, all-consuming agape type of love. But for those of us whose love for the Lord leans more towards the philos variety, we have some work to do.  I wish I could say I have answers for moving from one level of love to another, but I do not. I will be seeking the Lord to reveal to my heart how to make that transition. I am just thankful that the Lord brought me to a place where I noticed there was a difference. 

To read more on the topic of love visit the series on love.

Father, thank you for showing me the difference between the agape love that you shower upon me and the philos love that I end up returning. My heart’s prayer is that you bring me to a place where I can love you and others with an agape love, one that does not have expectations involved. I pray for anyone reading this post that may need to make a change in their level of love for you, that you deal with their hearts compassionately and gently. Lead them to a greater understanding of agape love. Show us, Lord, how to love like you! Show us how to agape others!

Being Effective And Productive In The Kingdom

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 1:5-8 (emphasis mine)

Two phrases literally leaped right off the page as I read this scripture. “if you possess these qualities… they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive…” There are certain things that we must have  in our spiritual walks in order to remain effective and productive in the kingdom. The opposite can be said that if we do not possess these qualities then we inevitably will be ineffective and unproductive in the kingdom. This is exactly the very card satan is trying to play on Christians. He wants to deem us ineffective and unproductive. Keeping the devil in a place of fear is our playing card. When we are aware and continuously working on the qualities needed to be effective and productive in the kingdom of God we keep satan in a constant state of fear.

Let’s take a look at the characteristics that have been listed in this verse: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love. That is a pretty powerful list. I don’t know about you, but I know there are a few on that list I need some help to possess in increasing measure for sure! I want to take some time to look these characteristics, learn what they are and what scripture teaches about each one.

Faith

Scripture tells us that “...if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move...”  Matthew 17:20 We do not need an abundance of faith in order to thrive in the kingdom of God. We just need the tiniest amount of unwavering faith in the Lord to see the impossible take place. The beautiful thing about faith is that it can start out as small as a mustard seed and as we see mountains move in our lives and the lives of those around us we can watch it grow. Our faith grows with each answer to pray, with each God sized portion of provision, with every occasion of supernatural protection and in  each and every heartfelt moment of peace in the midst of the cayos. Scripture tells us that when we seek Him we will find Him. (Matthew 7:7) Our faith grows when we look for God in every situation.

Goodness

Goodness is moral excellence and virtue. This is a quality we have seen drastic declines in our culture over the last several decades. Our culture likes to tell us that humans are inherently good. However, scripture is clear that we were born with a sin nature and are sinners from birth.

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5 The sin nature we are born with wages furiously against any type of goodness unless we are willing to purposely take a stand and fight back. Our flesh will always win the war that we are not willing to fight.   

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6 (ESV) I’d like to reword this verse to say…”Surly moral excellence and virtue will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (My rendition of Psalm 23:6) The old saying that states “What goes around comes around” applies quite literally in this verse. When we operate with moral excellence and virtue, then they will surely follow us. People are drawn to those with a large moral base and function with virtue. I have never met a person who displayed excellent moral character that I haven’t enjoyed being around. These people become magnets for the kingdom. It’s no wonder God wants the characteristic of goodness to grow in increasing measure in our lives.

Knowledge

Knowledge is acquiring facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation (adapted from dictionary.com). God intends for us to grow in our knowledge of Him, His word, His truths, and His principles as we mature in our faith. We are not called to stay spiritual babies forever. “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” Proverbs 18:15. We are called to actively search and seek out knowledge, understanding, truth, God’s principles and investigate the scriptures. If we are not diligently doing this we can not possibly be growing in knowledge in increasing measure. This takes time and effort on our part. We must be willing to put forth the effort needed to acquire knowledge. I sometimes wish that by some form of osmosis it would just come to me. But it doesn't. That would be a surefire way to create a lazy Christian. And if I know anything about our Heavenly Father, He is not in the business of creating lazy Christians.

Self-control

Self control is our ability to restrain our actions, feelings and words when we find ourselves under pressure, stress, or criticism. This is an area that needs so much of God’s grace in my personal walk. I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. People know when I am annoyed, frustrated or bothered. I wish I had a shut off switch in this department because my lack of restraint has gotten me in more trouble than I care to admit. Proverbs 14:17 tells us that “a quick tempered person does foolish things…” Yep, that’s me alright, a short fuse that turns into foolishness. How about you? Are you one who is quick to anger and frustration, or are you one who exhibits self control in difficult situations? Lord, help us to have self control in increasing measure!    

Perseverance

The meaning of perseverance is having a steady persistence in a course of action, or a purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement (dictionary.com) Some translations of scripture also use long suffering. We are going to be faced with all kinds of obstacles in our walk with Christ. Will we have the stubbornness that it takes to stick it out no matter what the obstacles? Are we truly willing to suffer long and hard for the sake of the kingdom or will we crumble under the pressure? I believe we must exhibit a certain degree of obstinence in the kingdom. We must not be willing to compromise our faith for shortcuts, narrow roads or smoother paths. I truly believe that in order to have perseverance we must be bullheaded for Godly principles. Afterall, satan is certainly persistent in his fight for our souls. Why shouldn’t we be just as insistent upon righteousness prevailing in our lives and the lives of our family? ”Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 We will receive a crown of life when we persevere under trials! What sobering thought. We are storing up treasures in heaven when we are stubborn for kingdom principles. Lord, give us a tenacity for long suffering.

Godliness

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8) Becoming more Christ like is the very essence of being a Christian. Having godliness is valuable to everything we do in this life. We must desire to become increasingly Christ like each and every day.

Kindness

I have shared in a previous post about kindness. When people operate with kindness, it flows from their very character in such a way that they will elevate the good in others. They consciously look towards the interests of those around them. (Philippians 2:3-4) It is their desire to see others grow and flourish. The very nature of our Heavenly Father is kindness. He desires for us to grow in kindness with increasing measure each and every day.

Love

I recently completed an entire series on love. Please feel free to go and view that series if you need a refresher on God’s love. Love encomposes all of these characteristics that we just listed out. If we truly love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27), then we will possess faith, goodness, a thirst for knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and kindness. That does not mean that we possess each of them with increasing measure. That takes work on our part to make that happen. I truly believe that if we put the majority of our efforts into loving God, and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31), then the rest will fall into place. That is why scripture tells us that “...the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 3:13.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the keys to being effective and productive in your kingdom. Help us to grow with increasing measure each and every day in faith, goodness, a thirst for knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and most importantly love. Thank you for not giving us a spirit of fear, but for allowing us to use fear as a weapon against the enemy. As we increase in these qualities may it build fear in satan. We pray that no weapon that he tries to bring against us is going to prosper because we are keeping busy working the word in our lives with increasing measure. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Provision In Obedience

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-22 (emphasis mine)

This portion of scripture clearly shows an unadulterated faith and obedience in Jesus Christ. These men recognized instantly the power and authority that was upon Him and did not hesitate to lay aside the things of this life to follow. Jesus had just begun His ministry and I am sure these men had heard from John the Baptist, but it is quite possible that this is the very first time that they had actually laid eyes on Him. Can you imagine leaving everything you have ever known to go with someone you have just met? I’m sure they had great anticipation of His coming since John the Baptist had relentlessly paved the way for His coming. I can only assume that they did not feel that they were meeting a stranger but a long-awaited friend and in the moment when their eyes locked they did not question His words. Jesus said come and they left the security of their jobs and families and without hesitation and followed.

As I have shared with you all a previous post our family has undergone a similar experience. We have left a secure job, our home, and everything we knew to be our “security” and followed. But can I just say this, when He calls and you go, your needs will always be taken care of. There will always be provision when we move in obedience! We have spent the last 3 months on the road raising funds for Liberia, West Africa and we are gearing up for another 3 months before we can leave for Liberia. We continue to pray that the funds come in to not only get us on the ground but to keep us there so we can do the things God has laid in our hearts to do. We are learning that our God is not limited in the slightest. He is also very creative in his ways of provision. When a family of five lives on the road for three months you can better believe that this is not cheap! But We watched the Lord use people in amazing ways to meet needs that we were not even expecting or asking for! Just as it says in Ephesians “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20. There were so many times we did not even ask or think about God providing in the ways that He did, but to this day He continues to astound us in His creative abilities the ways He provides for His children.

Examples

When traveling on the road we often found ourselves eating fast food. And let me tell you, this gets old quick! One of our go-to places to alleviate the greased down feeling that most fast food joints leave you feeling with is Subway. It is a much healthier option when you're in need of something quick. Like usual, we were standing in line conversing with the other customers. We often get asked why our kids are “out of school.” Well, since they are homeschooled this is an easy segway into what we are doing as a family. We get through the line and ready to pay and the cashier tells me that my bill has been taken care of. I almost cried! Here we were a family of five minding our own business and someone was willing to bless us with a meal. I looked around and caught eyes with the lady standing behind me in line and realized she had taken care of our meal. With tears in my eyes, I thanked her. My children quickly followed suit. We were completely blown away by God’s hand in it all.

While we are on the road we live out of a travel trailer. It is a tight squeeze, but it’s home and that thought seems to alleviate some of the discomforts of the close quarters. When you live in a travel trailer full time it is bound to have both the normal wear and tear of the road plus the general maintenance that any travel trailer is going to need. So when our initial three months was done we took it to an RV shop and told them everything we needed to be done. We had mentioned that we were paying about $50 a month to store it in a storage unit and he told us that we could store it at his shop for $30 a month. He stores a number of other trailers and RVs and that it would not be a problem. This was great news! Any way we could cut costs is always helpful! We also had the opportunity to share what we are doing as a family and upon hearing his, the owner of the RV shop got so excited. He had just started going to church about a year ago. So, it was very evident he was still a very new and eager Christian, such a refreshing thing to see! He talked about his wife and how faithful she had been over the years with church and now he had finally decided to join her and does not regret it one bit. He was so moved by our story he actually called up his wife while we were standing there. He shared with her that he offered to store our trailer for us, but he said: “we can’t charge them for that can we?” To which his wife quickly replied, “No we can’t.” So, now we have a safe place to store our trailer free of charge! Praise the Lord! After getting off the phone with his wife he told us he would take a look at our trailer, let us know if there was anything else that needed to be taken care of and give us a total cost before he did any work. We didn’t want to end up with a huge bill and wonder how we were going to juggle paying for it when it came.

About a week went by and we hadn’t heard from the RV shop and we were getting a little worried. When the phone call did come the RV shop owner ran down through the extensive list of work he had done to the trailer. This made my husband extremely anxious because we had specifically asked to have an estimate before the work was done. As the owner finished out the laundry list of items he concluded with this… “And your total comes to a whopping ZERO!” My husband was speechless. The RV shop owner had taken care of all of the things we needed to be fixed on the trailer plus did some things that we hadn’t expected all because he wanted us to be safe on the road! Wow! If that is not the hand of God, I don’t know what is. The total was over $800.00 but the bill said paid in full! It still makes me cry as I share this story with you all. Our God is so awesome! “...He will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

When we were on the road time and time again we had people who give directly to our family rather than through the organization we are with so that they could help with food and gas. It truly was amazing to watch God’s hand of provision rise up. There was never a need that did not go unmet. We never lacked for a single thing. This is when you can be certain that you have heard the voice of the Lord correctly because “my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Heavenly Father, I thank you that you meet all of our needs according to your riches in glory. I thank you that when you ask us to follow you that you will always provide for us, you are never going to let the righteous fall or your seed begging for bread. Thank you for taking care of us in the calling. Your hand is never too short! Our needs are always taken care of, even those needs we did not see coming or were not asking for, you have already provided a way for. Thank you! Help us to hear your voice when you call and not to question, but to follow without hesitation just like Simon, Andrew, James, and John. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus.

Love (Part 8)

Looking back on the last 7 weeks of posts and trying to wrap my mind around the vastness of our Father’s love is just so indescribable to me. But if I could sum it up it would come to this, God’s love is a lavished love without conditions and limits. It comes freely with no strings attached and no expectations. His love never grows tired, weary, or discontent with us. His love is patient, kind and respectful. It honors and elevates, hopes in and protects our hearts. His love is never boastful, proud, rude or arrogant. Our Father’s love is serving and selfless. It is slow to anger and abounding in adoration for us. It keeps no records of our mistakes and it carries our sins upon its shoulders. The precious love of God is rich in grace and mercy and drenched with compassion. His love rejoices over us with wholehearted zeal. His love yearns to be with us so much so that it causes Him to passionately pursue a relationship with us. This just scratches the surface of God’s love, but it has been enough to prove to my insecure self that I have a daddy who loves me more than words can even express and in my moments of doubt I find myself needing to rehearse these very words you have just read about His love. I know that this journey of discovering God’s love is not over, but I have just been simply undone by the immensity of it all! My prayer is that you have been able to discover some beautiful truths about our Heavenly Father’s love for you and that it profoundly affects your heart for eternity.

We have spent five weeks discussing 1 Corinthians 13:5-7, but what is important to note is the verses that precede this section of scripture.

“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.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Love trumps all the giftings and talents we might have. There is nothing in our talents, abilities or God-given giftings that can withstand the test of time. When we operated without God’s love it is only a matter of time before someone recognizes that we are in it for the love of self. When we get right down to it, if we don’t have a love for God, we have a love of self, and that is precisely the kind of love the world recognizes as flakey, fakey and a bunch of bologna. Everything about us must be married and interwoven with God’s love flowing in us and through us or we truly are worth nothing to this world. Let’s face it, this world has enough talented people who do not love with the love of Christ, we certainly don’t need to add to that list of individuals. We don’t want to be the resounding gong in the ears of this unbelieving world, but rather the tender whisper of the precious love of Christ. That tender whisper will draw those around us to our Heavenly Father.  

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

There are so many hidden truths yet to be revealed to my heart, but one thing I know for sure God’s love is the most important truth my heart needs to grab hold of and never let go. As we close out this series on love, I pray that your heart is drawn ever closer to the steadfast love of our Heavenly Father. He loves you to the cross and back.

Our precious Lord, there are no words to express the gratitude in our hearts for your unfailing love you have for us. Thank you for flooding us with a kind of love that chases after us in a very passionate way. Help us to grasp how wide, how long, how high and how deep your love is for us so that we can be a vessel used to pour out your love into a lost and dying world. Lord, we do not want to be a clanging gong in the ears of others, but rather a sweet and tender whisper that draws many to your feet. Let your love in us be evident to everyone we meet. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.  

To read the other posts from this series on God’s love please go to the Love series page.

Love (Part 7)

What an honor it is to be loved by a faithful Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally right where we are, but He is also the ultimate example of what love is all about. There is no better way to learn about love than from the very author of love Himself. I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful to be on this journey towards a deeper understanding of God’s love. This journey has truly been a refreshing to my spirit in more ways then I can even express in words. We still have four more concepts about love to cover from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and they are, love always protects, always trusts always hopes and always perseveres. Let’s jump right in shall we?

“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 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love always protects.

The Latin origin of the word “protect” literally means to cover over or to walk in front of. When we think of protection our minds often go towards our own desire to keep hurt, pain and suffering from those we love. This can not always be the case. Love may not take the pain away, but like a bandage, it covers over and protects the wounds that have already been inflicted. Love comes alongside and holds our hands when the road of life gets rockier than we anticipated. God’s love works in an even greater measure than this simple bandage analogy. God’s love not only covers our wounds, but His love actually brings the healing oil that allows those wounds to begin the healing process. When we love with the love of Christ, we bring not only the covering of God’s love to others (the bandage) but also the healing oil that can change a heart for eternity.

Love always trusts.

I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this one because putting it plainly, our humanness is not always trustworthy. I don’t know about you, but I have dropped the ball a time or two and have needed to regain trust in different areas of my life. When I read this verse my mind immediately reverted in that direction. How is it even possible for love to always trust when we in our humanness are not always trustworthy? This is why I love studying out scripture because the Lord has a way of changing my views on things, especially when I am careful to keep a teachable spirit about me. This word “trusts” comes from the Greek word “pistis” which means: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. So, in other words, love believes in others. Love has faith that God is going to work in the heart even in those moments when the wrong path might be chosen. Love has confidence in God that He is going to bring the heart to a place where it will call upon the name of the Lord and seek His face. The takeaway here is this, when we put our focus on the sin that people are entangled in, we will become discouraged, but when we put our trust, faith, and confidence in our Heavenly Father’s love for that person, it is then that our love for them has the ability to always trust. Not that we are trusting in their ability to choose righteousness, but that we trust in the ability of our Heavenly Father to give them a desire to choose righteousness for themselves. Love always trusts God’s ability to do His part in the situation.  

God’s love always trusts in us. His love always has full faith in our potential. Our Heavenly Father is our biggest cheerleader. He desires for us to succeed in His kingdom. He believes in each and every one of us! What a precious thought to know that the Lord is our greatest supporter no matter what we are facing. We might be choosing the valley of the shadow of death, but God believes in the potential that He has created us for. His love trusts in us!

Love always hopes.

This word “hopes” means to expect or anticipate. When love always hopes, it is expecting and anticipating great things. Just like we talked about our trust needing to be in our Heavenly Father to see change brought about in the hearts and lives of those around us, our hope needs to lie in those same hands. When we hope in people we will be disappointed time and time again, but when our hope is in the Lord and His perfect timing for those around us we will never be disappointed. God’s love never fails. We don’t always see things turn out the way we wanted, but that does not mean that love should stop hoping. God’s love expects beauty to come from our ashes, strength to spring forth from our fears, gladness to take the place of our morning and peace to replace our despair. These things are all possible because we have a God who loves hopes for us.

Love always perseveres.

I think there is a reason why “love always perseveres” is the last on the list in this section of scripture. The Lord truly has saved the best characteristic of love for last! GOD’S LOVE WILL NOT QUIT ON US!!!!! His love will never fail, never give up or run out on us. It will never fade, grow tired, or become weary. His love will never weaken, never waver or soften one us in the slightest. It is unshakeable, unstoppable, unrelenting and unyielding. God’s love is immovable, constant, persistent and endless. His love does not slow down, take a break or relax. God’s love for you and I is intense, unquenchable and relentless. His love seeks and saves! God’s love never stops, it always perseveres. Wow! It’s no wonder we have a difficult time loving with the love of Christ. How many people do we truly love with that much intensity? I know I have a long way to go in this department. I pray that God teaches me how to love with the intensity of Christ.  

Heavenly Father, there are not enough words to begin to express the gratitude in our hearts for the immense love you shower on us each and every second of every single day. Thank you that your love always protects, always trusts always hopes and always perseveres. Help us to love others in such a way that we put our trust and hope in you in their hearts and not become discouraged when they don’t choose righteousness. Thank you for this intense love that does not waver in the slightest over us. Thank you for loving us recklessly. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

To read any other posts from this series on God’s love please visit the Love series page.

Love (Part 6)

As we steadily work through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, I pray that we are beginning to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ truly is (Ephesians 3:18).

“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 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

I believe this not only encompasses the actual wrongs that have been done to us, but maybe even more importantly than that, the wrongs that we perceive to have been done to us as well. If we are truly being honest here, we don’t see situations as they always are. Sometimes we get offended and get a chip on our shoulder all because we “think” we know what is going on, even if we “think” we know both sides of the story. Love holds the trump card against our freedom to get offended and dangle it over someone’s head. If we truly love, then we need to be willing to rise above the little black book of memories that we can have a tendency to cling onto until our knuckles turn white. Instead, we should be thankful for the precious moments that are set before us to make things right.

I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father does not keep a little black book of offended memories dangling over my head. If there was such a book it would not be so little because I know I am a sinner of the most tiresome kind. Not only does He not keep a little black book, but according to Hebrews 8:12, the Lord forgives our sins and remembers them no more. Our sins are wiped clean out of His memory when we place them at the feet of Christ. What an amazing kind of love that is! Sometimes I only wish I was that forgetful when someone has wronged me. It truly takes work to keep my offended self from wanting to throw up an entire black book of complaints!

Love does not delight in evil.

Love does not rejoice when others are hurting. Scripture tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). However, sometimes in our capitalistic society, we can have a tendency to rejoice when things don’t go as well for others, especially when their loss is our gain. This is not love!

We serve a God who does not take delight in evil, nor does He get any satisfaction from our pain. Christ loves us so much that He willingly took on our pain, not for His gain, but for our benefit, so we might have eternal life. Our God rejoices when we rejoice and mourns when we mourn. He hurts when we are in the throngs of a painful situation and His heart celebrates with us when we are rejoicing. What a beautiful picture of love!

Love rejoices in the truth.

Love turns it’s back on evil, but runs with arms wide open to truth. This is exactly what we must be willing to do. We must be willing to reject the evil and safeguard truth in our lives. Love flourishes in truth but is suffocated by evil. I am so grateful to serve a God whose very nature is truth.

Heavenly Father, I thank you that your love keeps no records of wrongs. I am thankful that your love does not delight in evil, but it rejoices in the truth. Help us to be filled with the kind of love that does not carry around a memory book of offenses towards others of when they have wronged us. Help us not to delight in evil, or secretly be happy when someone’s loss is our worldly gain. Help us to remember just how much pain you took on for our benefit. Lord, your love is truly amazing and we are forever grateful! We pray all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.  

To read any other posts from this series on God’s love please visit the Love series page.

Love (Part 5)

This week we continue in our study of God’s love by looking at “love does not dishonor, it is not self-seeking and it is not easily angered” from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

“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 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love does not dishonor others.

The 1989 NIV version says “...It is not rude…” Love is never going to treat others with disrespect, dishonor, or be rude. Now that we know what love does not look like, let’s take a look at antonyms of this list of words in order to better understand what love should look like. The opposite character trait of disrespect is respect. The word respect means to esteem highly or to identify a sense of the worth or excellence within a person. When we are loving someone with respect we are willing to search out the good in them and formulate an opinion of them based on those good qualities. Wow! This truly is a skill that takes practice and persistence in order to carry out, especially when we come across those who seem to be unlovable. Our Heavenly Father’s love is one of respect. He always has the best in mind for His children.  

The opposite character trait of dishonor is honor. We should hold others in such high regard that they walk away from us feeling like they have just spent time with the Father Himself. When we interact with others we should always view them through Christ’s eyes. Every person on this entire earth, no matter how much sin they might find themselves entangled in, is created in the image of God. We should have no difficulty treating others with honor when we keep that thought in the forefront of our minds.

The opposite of rude is kind. We discussed in part 3 that love is kind. When someone is kind they actively search out the strengths of others. People who are kind elevate the good in others. We all enjoy when others treat us with kindness. We should be willing to love others in kindness.

Love is not self-seeking.

I have always said that babies are the most selfish living being on the face of the planet, and for good reason. If they were not wired with the “me first mentality” then they would far too often get overlooked and their basic needs would not be met. Think about it, when a baby cries they are usually trying to communicate some type of need. They are hungry, tired, need changed, or they are sick. If they never cried how often would we as parents miss their feeding times, napping times, changing times, or not recognize when they are sick? In the case of a baby selfishness is a matter of survival. As we grow up we should slowly grow out of this need for constant attention. However, some of us find ourselves in the battle against selfishness each and every day. We much rather be served then serve. The love of Christ does not desire for us to come bearing gifts every time we enter His presence. Christ came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). This concept of selflessness can be a tough one in our American culture today. We live in a generation that is obsessed with the “selfie.” We  want so badly to appear as if we have arrived, we have it all together and that we have life figured out. If you think I’m off track on this just a little, take a look at Facebook or Instagram. When was the last time we or any of our friends posted the challenges we are facing in our life? All we post is things that make us look “good.” The reality is never what is posted on social media. Social media is a incubator for shelf. I’m not bashing those platforms by any means. I utilize them myself, but when all we post are things that elevate self then we better reevaluate whether or not self-centeredness has replaced a love for others.

I am so thankful that Christ’s love is not selfish. If it was, He would have gotten as far as the Garden of Gethsemane and decided that He didn’t want to suffer for the sake of others, that the pain of the cross was not worth it to Him. Self could have sat on the throne of His life. If this were the case, the blood would never have been shed and my sins, your sins or for the sins of every person who ever lived and who ever will live. This certainly would have been an eternal sentence for every last one of us to hell. I praise God for an unselfish love because it means freedom from sin and the gift of life eternal!

Love is not easily angered.

Someone who is easily angered is quick to lose their patience with others. Anger in and of itself is not sinful, it’s when we act upon that anger and allow our temper to get the better of us. We can be angry and not sin. Ephesians 4:26 tells us “In your anger do not sin Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” Instead of having a short fuse in the anger department scripture tells us we are to be slow to anger. “... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” James 1:19 Again, not that we can’t get angry at times, but we should be slow in getting there. We are to have patience with others. In part 3 we discussed that love is patient.

If God’s love was full of anger, His fuse would be short, He would be impatient and I would probably have already been burned up by His wrath. But instead, God’s love is not easily angered and patient with me. I am incredibly grateful for this! How about you?

Heavenly Father, I thank you that your love does not dishonor, it is not self-seeking and it is not easily angered. I pray that you help us in each of these areas so that we can love others with honor, respect, and kindness. Help us to keep our eyes off of ourselves and on others so we can love unselfishly. Father may your love flow through us in such a way that we are extremely slow to anger and frustration and quick to be patient with those around us. Lord, we still have a long way to go in some of these areas. I pray that your holy spirit comes in and takes over our hearts so that it’s not us trying to love like Christ in our human capabilities because we know that this is limited. May you work in us so that your love flows directly through us straight to the hearts of others. Thank you for your beautiful example of love. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray.  

To read the other posts in this series please visit the Love series page.