Focal Passage for 2011:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
Weekly Passage:
“(Love) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.” 1 Corinthians 13:5
January 2010, we began a journey together learning to love as Christ loves. When we first began, I thought that our study would be finished in a few months and that we would move on to another topic fairly quickly. Well, it was not long before I realized how wrong I was. I must confess that I was very arrogant in my thinking. When the Lord began to impress upon my heart that HE wanted me to focus on learning to love as Christ, I was surprised. Why? I was surprised because I really believed that I did love as Christ most of the time. Boy, pride sure is rooted deep within my heart!!
The more God teaches me about the pure, unconditional, selfless love of Christ the more I realized the vile, wicked, conditional love that is alive and active in my heart. My Friend, when we examine our lives against the backdrop of Scripture we cannot help but see the sin that has taken root in our lives. Now, this should not be a discouragement to us. As children of God, we have the promise of God to cling too. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6). “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
How does this truth affect you today?! This truth is the very core of our hope we have in Christ Jesus. HE alone is our Redeemer who reconciles sinners to a holy God. HE loves us with a love that in our humanness we cannot fully understand. HE is our example…We are called to be ambassadors of Christ in order to point others to the cross where they too can find forgiveness, salvation, reconciliation, and restoration. As we move forward this year in our pursuit to love as Christ loves, we will be challenged with truth. God will establish in our hearts a pure desire to reflect Him in our daily lives and HE will teach us and guide us as we love with a pure, unconditional, and selfless love. Are you excited?!?! I am so thankful that you have chosen to study God’s Word with me each week. I will do my very best to honor the Lord through this ministry and to faithfully record what God is teaching me so that we can learn and grow together. Grab your Bibles, My Friend…Here we go!!
As we continue our journey into 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, we will focus our time this week on the first portion of verse 5. Our focus this past 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).
This week, we will focus our attention on the first portion of our focal passage “(Love) does not behave rudely…” What does it mean to “behave rudely?” God’s Word is clear and His commands are explained throughout Scripture. With that in mind, let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 10:24 in order to gain more insight. “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.” When we act rudely, we are basically saying in our hearts that our desires, wants, needs, opinions, etc. are more important than someone else’s desires, wants, needs, opinions, etc. An example that we are all familiar with is when one child wants something that the other child has and he/she begins to act rudely. Rude behavior may manifest itself differently in each child depending upon the circumstance but the heart issue is always the same.
As a mother of four, I deal with this heart issue on a daily basis. I recognize it in my children and I am usually very quick to address it with Scripture. My heart’s desire is for my children to grow into the men and women that God has created them to be. I want them to grow spiritually and to have a heart after God’s own heart. I understand that any sin that is allowed to grow will continue to take root and that sin will disrupt a pure and intimate relationship with the Lord God. Now, I have a question for you. Why is it easier to see sin in our children’s hearts than it is to recognize sin in our own hearts?!
God uses my children to teach me more about Himself and to convict my heart on many levels as I deal with their heart issues. Allow me to share a personal example. One day last month it seemed that all I did was deal with rude behaviors and unkind hearts in my children. I was exhausted and ready for bed that evening and I remember praying for my children. I asked the Lord to convict them of their sins and to change their hearts and then I drifted off to sleep. The next morning, our alarm went off at 5:00am and I said, “Good Morning” to my husband, Glen. It was not two minutes after that greeting that I began to act rudely toward my husband. I asked him a question and I did not like the answer he gave me. Before I knew what was happening, I was following him to the bathroom insisting that he change his mind and do things my way. He stopped what he was doing and explained that he was called by God to be accountable for our family and the direction I wanted him to go was not where he felt the Lord leading. Now, I knew he was right but my flesh was furious that he was not “listening to me.”
I wish I could say that I immediately stopped arguing and repented of my sin and asked his and the Lord’s forgiveness but that would not be true. I remained upset with my husband most of the morning until a dear friend called. As I shared with her my frustration, she said to me, “Michelle, you know that you responded sinfully to Glen and that you need to apologize to him.” In that moment, the Lord reminded me of our focal passage and the very lessons that I had worked on with my children the day before. “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
My Friend, when we do not guard our hearts with the truth of God’s Word and use His Word to guide our hearts, we will quickly find ourselves acting in ways that dishonor the Lord. Our behavior does affect those around us. We are called by God to live lives that point others to the Cross. When we act rudely and selfishly, we are falling short of our calling. Christ gave all of Himself so that we could be reconciled to God. Without His blood, we have no hope for eternal life in heaven. As children of God, we must love others the way Christ loves us! We must die to self and live for Christ daily. Why? Because “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by fiath in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). How do you love, My Friend?
