SOMETHING OF SIGNIFICANCE SERIES:
LOVE IS WHAT YOU NEED!
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:13
“And now, these three remain: FAITH, HOPE and LOVE.
But the greatest of these is
LOVE!”
For quite some time, I was very
interested as to why the Holy Spirit put LOVE at the bottom of the list of the
three things that are important for our lives to be happy and productive as New
Testament believers!
It is interesting, because we are
told that without FAITH, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. Hebrews 11:6
So Faith is obviously gigantic on
God’s hit list!
Also, HOPE gives us confidence,
Hebrews 11:1, that what we are praying for will actually happen and is on its
way!
So Hope is super BIG with God and
for us as well!
After much study and
contemplation, I realized why the greatest force in life is God’s LOVE! This is
because it is the FOUNDATION that FAITH and HOPE are built upon and is the very
essence of God himself!
Just as all building structures,
whether they are houses or commercial buildings, etc., require the foundation
or substructure to be carefully laid so that everything involved in the
superstructure will rest on it properly, God’s LOVE in us and flowing out of us
has to be the FOUNDATION our lives are built upon!
How do we know when we are acting
in God’s LOVE and not some worldly surface idea of what love is?
The Holy Spirit has given us a
Check List, a guideline, of what Love is and what it is not in 1Corinthians
13:4-7!
Why is it so important that we are
aware of the intricacies of what God deems qualifying factors for our love walk
as Christians?
I remember passing by an Auto
Service Garage one day and there was a large sign out front that said:
RED LIGHT FLASHING?
Better get it checked out before
something BIG happens!
In my personal experiences through
the years, if I had noted a “red light flashing” in my spirit, I would have
acted and reacted differently to various situations and saved myself from BIG
happenings that would have turned out very different, I believe, if I had
focused on God’s Love Check List and applied it!
So, here goes the Holy Spirit’s
list of Love qualifiers:
Love is Patient!
(Having patience with imperfect
people)
Love is kind!
(Active in doing good)
Love does not envy!
(Because it actually wants other
people to get ahead)
Love does not parade itself!
(Not claiming attention for
oneself)
Love is not puffed up!
(Does not treat others arrogantly)
Love does not behave rudely!
(But displays good manners and
courtesy)
Love does not seek its own!
(Insisting on its own rights,
demanding precedence; rather, it is unselfish)
Love is not easily provoked!
(It is not irritable or touchy,
rough or hostile, but is graceful under pressure.)
Love thinks no evil!
(It does not keep an account of
wrongs done to it, instead, it erases resentments.)
Love does not rejoice in iniquity!
(Finding satisfaction in the
shortcomings of others and spreading an evil report)
Love rejoices in the Truth!
(Aggressively advertising the
good)
Love Bears All Things!
(Defending and holding people up)
Love Believes the best of others!
(Credits them with good
intentions, and is not suspicious)
Love always Hopes!
(Never gives up but affirms the
future)
Love always Perseveres!
(Remains loyal even under
pressure)
Love never fails!
(God’s way of doing things never
fails!)
(Commentary from Spirit-Life
Bible, NKJ)
In light of the above, there is a
very interesting story of how two of Jesus’ close disciples reacted to an
uncomfortable situation that has similarities to the environment we find
ourselves in today:
“As the time approached for him to
be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem and he sent
messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for
him, but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for
Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John
saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us TO CALL FIRE DOWN from heaven to
destroy them?” But Jesus turned and
corrected them and said, “You do not know of which Spirit you are!”
Wow! Here are two of Jesus’ close disciples
reacting instead of acting!
Notice, Jesus did not tell them it
was not possible for them to call down “fire” to destroy them! Was He correcting them for forgetting who
they represented, which was to be a representative of His Father’s LOVE, or was
He cautioning them about releasing “Words” and “Actions” that had the potential to destroy what He was
here to build?
Jesus brother, James said
something that may bring clarity:
“…In the same way, the tongue is a
small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great
forest ablaze. The tongue also is a
fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course
of his life on fire, and is itself set on FIRE by hell.” James 3:5-6
It is often easy to be hard on
people with different opinions than ours and to quickly make harsh judgements
instead of praying prayers of faith for them.
Could Jesus have been making the
point that He wanted his disciples to be cognizant that they were on Heaven’s
team, members of the “God’s squad,” and should not be acting for the “enemies’
team” by calling down fire and destruction just because people weren’t seeing
it their way?
It is much the same way today,
there are so many opposing forces, opinions and passions surrounding family,
friends, political parties, cultures and ethnic groups, that it is easy to get
caught up in our emotions and react the same way James and John did.
How then can we, as children of
God, be used to bring about changes in the world for His glory?
The Apostle Paul told Timothy to
enlist people to pray the following way:
“I urge you, FIRST OF ALL, to pray
for ALL people. Ask God to help them;
intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in
authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and
dignity. This is good and pleases God
our Savior who wants EVERYONE to be SAVED and to UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH.”
Some FOOD for Thought concerning
the above prayer list:
First of All, Pray for ALL
people! What? I think most of us many times would want to
get on James and John’s team!
Intercede, which means to
intervene on behalf of another? “For we are co-workers in God’s service; you
are God’s field. God’s building. 1 Cor. 3:9
This means, as the Body of Christ,
God releases His desire for people and nations through the intercessory prayers
of His people!
Give thanks for ALL people? Don’t we, in all honesty, often find it
difficult to even like some people, much less praying for and thanking God for
them; but here, he is saying God wants us to give THANKS for them!
Pray for leaders and ALL in
authority around the world? Pray what?:
“That they will be saved, and come
to understand the truth!”
He is saying this is how we can be
part of changing men’s hearts—pray for leaders of nations that they will accept
Jesus and come to understand how God’s kingdom works! Faith works by Love! Galatians 5:6
God says this is the good way to
pray and really pleases Him because His heart’s desire is that EVERYONE would
come to know Jesus and to understand that He is a good God that wants good things
for All people!
As we take on the mandate to pray
specific prayers as the Holy Spirit leads, in the midst of so much controversy
in the world today, even among our family, friends and sphere of influence, we
will be “doing good and pleasing God our Savior” by spreading His Love, which
is truth, throughout the world.
Our “Faith, Hope and Love” based
prayers are important to God:
Once again, James, Jesus’ brother
shows us how when we acknowledge how we have “missed the mark” ourselves, it
makes it easier to pray more compassionate and earnest prayers for others so
they can be healed and restored to a right relationship with God which is what
He desires for All!
“Confess to one another therefore
your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray
[also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual
tone of mind and heart].” James 5:16 Amplified
When we are conscious of God’s
cleansing and healing Love for us, it gives us confidence to pray powerful
faith-filled prayers for others!
….”The heartfelt and persistent
prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action
and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]. James
5:16
Jesus said, at the end of the age,
right before His return, the love of many would grow cold! Isn’t that what we are seeing all around
us?
But, we also find the solution for
the turnaround in God’s Word!
Again, Galatians 5:6 “Faith is
activated and expressed and works through love.”
Amplified
When I think of what God says is
important for our Faith to be activated so that our prayers are answered, my
mind takes me back to the UK when I stopped to put gas into the beautiful, high
performance car that that I was driving.
I stopped at a Petrol Station and didn’t realize that the attendant had
put Diesel fuel into the gas tank rather than gasoline. Much to my surprise, almost immediately, as I
was driving away, the car started jerking and hesitating and, as I looked into
the rear-view mirror, I saw big puffs of black smoke coming from the exhaust
pipe!
What had happened? The wrong fuel was put in! What had been a smooth running, special
automobile, soon ceased to operate efficiently; not to mention, it looked
pretty awful sitting by the roadside instead of fulfilling its purpose! The interesting thing is, the car
engine had to be completely flushed out before it would run efficiently
again. The right fuel could not just be
put on top of the wrong fuel…..it needed a total cleansing; then it was running
smooth again!
This week, I had a situation
arrive that was a bit uncomfortable and I had the opportunity to put the right
fuel into my “spiritual tank” and to apply the “Love Check List” to what I was
feeling! Something came up and my mind
immediately went to a negative, judgmental thought; but God!….the Red Light
started flashing and I chose “Love that thinks the best of others,” and immediately, I felt a sense of God’s presence
smiling into the situation!
In much the same way, being aware
of the Love Check List above, will help us keep the right fuel in our
“spiritual tanks” so that we will not inadvertently be filling up with the
wrong fuel, sat by the roadside, but we will be co-workers with God, full of
His LOVE, fulfilling His special purposes for our lives and those we pray for!
Final Thought:
King Solomon said: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get
wisdom; and with all your getting, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7
As we put into practice each day
the wisdom about “God’s Love” that we have learned more about today, I believe
we will experience more peace, more faith, more hope, more answered prayers
because—LOVE IS TRULY WHAT WE NEED!
