Monday Morning Devotion #288

Focal Passage for 2010:

“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 (NKJV)

Weekly Passage:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1

In the previous devotion, we began our journey into 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. Over the next several weeks, we will dive deep into this passage and seek to discern Biblical love. Our focus this year has been, and continues to be, learning to love others as Christ loves us. As I have shared before, my definition of love differs from God’s definition of love. God is teaching me that HE is the authority on all things. In light of that truth, if my definition is different than His, my definition is wrong!! “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).

Reread our focal passage once more. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Love is the very nature of God (1 John 4:8), love is the foundation of our relationship with the Lord God (Romans 5:8) and love must be our heart’s motive in our relationship with others. Our words as well as the tone in which we speak those words are very important. My Friend, we can say all the right things and give Biblical examples and truths but if the person hearing those words does not see Christ’s love displayed in and through us, those words will be a “sounding brass and clanging symbols.”

So how do we achieve a Christ-like love in our words? We must start with our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If we do not have a Biblical relationship with Him, it is impossible to love others as Christ loves us. Why? “…The light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:19b-21). If we do not truly have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, then we do not have the Holy Spirit living within us. Without the Holy Spirit, we are unable to live a life that honors the Lord God. Yes, we may say nice things or do good deeds but our heart’s motive is not to serve, honor, and glorify the Lord God…Our heart’s motive is to serve, honor, and glorify ourselves.

God’s Word tells us, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6). “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). Beloved, Scripture is very clear. We either serve God or we serve ourself!! If we have not given our lives to the Lord Jesus and surrendered ourselves to Him, we are not His and we are not filled with the Holy Spirit. Yes, we may know all the right words, all the Biblical answers, all the Christian phrases, and we may even have every one of our Christian friends fooled into thinking we are saved, but we must understand that God alone sees the very core of our hearts. HE alone knows the truth about our relationship with Him (1 Samuel 16:7b; Hebrews 4:12-13) and we will stand before Him when we come to the end of our lives. HE will either say, “Well done, My Good and Faithful Servant” or HE will say, “Depart from ME for I never knew you.” “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:28-29).

My Friend, sometimes we will speak truth in love and that truth will be rejected. Sometimes, we will be rejected as well. Those are painful times and our hearts break but we must keep our eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. HE is our goal. HE is our reward. HE is our purpose. HE alone is the reason that we step out and speak truth in love with the hope that those who hear His Word will come to know Him as their personal Lord and Savior. That their lives will be surrendered to Him so that they will live a life that serves, honors, and glorifies the Lord God!! And that they will receive the blessings that only God can give to them. This is not our home, Believers!! This is just a short stay while we are preparing to meet our Lord and Savior face to face!!! But while we are here, God’s command for us is to walk in the light of His word so that others will be directed to the cross.

Jesus is the perfect picture of God and the supreme example for us as we strive to live a life that glorifies the Lord God. As we continue to mine our way through 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, may our heart’s prayer be that God will use His Word to sharpen us, transform us, change us more into His image so that the words that we say and the truth that we share will be pleasing to Him. My Friend, how do you speak? What do others see in the reflection of your words?