Happy New Year, everyone! This is it. The twelfth day of Lovemas. And looking back, the journey was not easy. While going through 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, there were many times that I personally discovered exactly how little of the time that I show the people around me Biblical love. It does not always come natural, and it frequently takes a large amount of self control. Just to recap, here is the entire passage of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:
"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
On the twelfth day of Lovemas, we receive the last and possibly most wonderful bit of information about love. It never fails. True, holy, God-love cannot fail. Through God's love, we are victorious. That is not to say that during our walk through life, there will not be failures. Yes, it would probably be a great idea to keep on studying for all of your tests. But wherever we are, whatever circumstances we are in, we will have God and his glorious love to abide and walk in.
And just in case the message of Biblical love has not been clear, let me just say it plainly; love is not weak. One might look at 1 Corinthians and put it in the same category as childhood dreams, but to love is not an inferior stance to take. Love, in fact, never fails. It is strong, it conquers the iciest, hardest of hearts. Love takes strength, and much much more than does hate, self-centeredness, or rude behavior. So lets all agree to do our best to let go of the religious stance that thinks we were meant to walk in stoic judgement of the rest of the world. That is weakness. That is sad, and is a massive waste our redeemed lives. Jesus didn't set us free in order to litter the face of the earth with cruel-hearted boycotters.
Galations 5:13-15 says, "13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
When I was not yet even ten, my brother and I would ride the bus to school together. On that bus happened to be another brother and sister duo. I don't quite recall what exactly they did, but they must have acted out in some way, because I considered them to be troublesome. So much so, that in my little girl mind, it was obvious that they needed Jesus. In my general annoyance of their rambunctious behavior, I decided one day that I needed to take my Precious Moment's Bible on that bus and minister/force them to accept Jesus. I really was not thinking about them, I was just ready for them to stop being so annoying.
So one day, on the bus ride, I sat with them and rather abruptly explained Jesus to them and led them in a small prayer. I distinctly remember being stern, quick, and not at all compassionate. Maybe God used my rather selfish intentions for good. We may never know. But looking back, my tenacity was not for the salvation of their souls, but rather to cut down on what I considered to be a fixable problem.
We can't lie to ourselves anymore. Love is key. If we are walking outside of love, we are like a noisy gong; pointless and annoying. And the only fruit we bear is dry, tough, and useless. The more we try and force our "goodness" onto other people for our own personal gain, the more people are going to be turned away from their only hope! 1 John 4:8 puts it plainly, "8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
The world needs Jesus. We all know that. Talk to any person, Christian or not, and they know things are not alright. But love is how the Holy Spirit operates. We squelch the power of the Holy Spirit in us when we choose to be offended and deal with others harshly. When we go in trying to satisfy our own need to let someone know that their wrong, or eliminate beliefs that we don't agree with, we may succeed in our own selfish goals, but what God want's will fall by the wayside.
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