Most people know 1 Corinthians 13 as the love chapter, and it is often a popular passage to read at weddings. However I listened to a sermon last week from one of the few men whom I truly respect, Matt Carter and he had a different take on what Paul is speaking to. If you have heard this man speak, do so. He is a man who speaks the truth in love. Anyways I was listening to his sermon on 1 Corinthians 13, and I had heard it before but when I heard it last week my world was rocked.
I had been having a hard time and my attitude was getting pretty poor. I was feeling very frustrated and it was effecting my ministry and I knew it. I was "off my game" and I needed a pick-me-up that I knew wasn't coming any time soon. So I searched through my sermon podcasts for one that really spoke to me. So I ended up here at First Corinthians 13.
This chapter is about love, but it is often taken out of context. It was not necessarily written about a general love between two people but about a mindset we are to have when we act out our tasks in our everyday life.
The intentions behind what we do mean everything, if you speak the truth but have your own interests in mind then your work will ultimately come to nothing. If you help others but only with the idea that now "they owe you" you are really helping nobody. If you do anything only because it makes you feel good or that it makes you popular then eventually your work comes to nothing. Paul says this at the beginning of this chapter. The reason you do something means EVERYTHING.
Next Paul speaks to the hard times, to when your popularity disappears and you are not being appreciated for what you do. He does this because this is when your intentions become apparent. The world says duck and run, be popular elsewhere when this happens, but Paul says if you have been working and living with the right intentions popularity and applause and appreciation are the reward we work for.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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 Cor 13:4-7)
When the applause dies those who labor in love still still be going strong. The qualities above will become apparent and they will endure and God will bless them. Matt said something in his sermon from one of his mentors that really changed my attitude. He said that we were not called to be loved but to love. That hit me hard, no matter who is working against me or frustrating me I cannot falter, because I cannot be focused on what I receive from others because that is temporary but instead I must be sustained by what I receive from God and then give that grace and love to others.
This is what being a mature Christian is all about. God's grace is sufficient. Living in this fact is not easy because we like to see our praise right away, we like to be acknowledged for accomplishments and rewarded for our triumphs. But when you truly act in love none of that. When we act in love applause is nice but we know that our master saw and knows and that is more than enough.
"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. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears." (1 Cor 13:8-10)
I think here Paul is comforting us here. We are not perfect and we make mistakes. Paul is saying that when we make mistakes, that we should acknowledge them and refocus on the One who is perfect and seek His will. A "back to the basics" time if you will. There are times to speak and there are times to be silent. And a mature person is able to recognize these times. In the hard times, when we are "off our game" we seek to prove our correctness or sweep our mistakes under a rug. Instead I think Paul is saying repent and refocus during these times. God says if we seek Him we will find him. If we ask his wisdom He will answer. If we knock He will open the door. When we do this God will put us back on track. Not necessarily bringing back earthly praise but re-instilling our sense of security through living in His grace.
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:11-13)
Finally Paul explains that when we see this love then we are witnessing a spiritually mature person. He tells us that a person can have faith and hope but not be spiritually mature. Because faith and hope don't necessarily require pure intentions. People can have faith in God and show their faith and hope every day of their life as long as it keeps them in people's good graces. But if those good graces fall away it is love that sustains but without love, faith and hope can fall away when things get hard.
The God has given us all a role to play, and He has given us spiritual gifts to do this task masterfully. It is like God giving a boy his first knife. It is a tool, and if used correctly it will the knife can be a great asset. If used wrongly the knife can cause great damage to others and ourselves. The effectiveness of the knife does not lose its effectiveness when it is not acknowledged.
Our spiritual gifts are the same. They do not lose their effectiveness when they are not appreciated. And just like a knife our spiritual gifts have a purpose and if we use our gifts maturely, in love, others will benefit from our gifts. If we are childish in our use of the gifts God has given us we end up hurting others and ourselves.
So may you know that God has gifted you with power. And that He has given you the choice of how to use this power, for good or for evil. And may you know that when the applause fades and frustrations sets in that God's grace IS enough. So that you may stand firm in love for the world when times are hard. And that you may love like Jesus because he loves you.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Life after the fallout
Every so often a culture shifts in the direction that it was going. Sometimes the shift is small and almost unnoticeable other times it is quite dramatic. Anyways let me explain myself. I was sitting in front of my TV like I do every Monday evening and a car commercial came on boasting better gas mileage and a 60 day guarantee. And that got me started thinking... Then an insurance commercial came on for liberty mutual talking about how they are really concerned with being responsible. And that really got me thinking.
First I thought maybe we are at a precipice, a turning point where we as the American People can choose a new direction for our country. Then I realized that the precipice is long gone. We are now living with the consequences of our decisions. We were at a precipice when the economy tanked and businesses which have previously been stable went under or were bought up by the Government, stocks fell to an all time low leaving investors poor or broke. People stopped buying and started saving what little they had left. Some would call this a depression I choose to call this the precipice. Essentially America's economy came to as much of a halt as is possible. Which gave a rare opening for the American people to turn in a new direction.
That is exactly what we did. And I think we took a turn towards responsibility. Before we as a country we consumed, and discarded with little thought about where our trash built up. Now with the green initiative. There is a new thought about responsibility to the earth, to make less of a negative impact on the environment that we did the day before, and tomorrow to make even less of a negative impact. We are trying to be responsible stewards of this earth so that we can appreciate its beauty for generations to come.
Another evidence of this new direction is the idea that we are responsible to help others in need. More people have begun to volunteer since the economic downturn, and this new emphasis on social responsibility has begun to drive businesses to follow suit. With shows like EXTREME Home Makeover and others that are bringing communities together to help those in need. People want to get involved in this responsibility movement. It is to an extent that advertising is using this as a selling point. Corporations are donating to charities or causes when people purchase certain products. People want to help, responsibility is cool now.
We as America have turned a corner and now its time to hold on and see where this road takes us. Will this energy for responsibility fizzle out or is it just beginning? Only time will tell but what I do know is this. If we continue on this road with the idea of stewardship and responsibility in the forefronts of our minds, America can not only care for its own people but for so many others throughout the world.
First I thought maybe we are at a precipice, a turning point where we as the American People can choose a new direction for our country. Then I realized that the precipice is long gone. We are now living with the consequences of our decisions. We were at a precipice when the economy tanked and businesses which have previously been stable went under or were bought up by the Government, stocks fell to an all time low leaving investors poor or broke. People stopped buying and started saving what little they had left. Some would call this a depression I choose to call this the precipice. Essentially America's economy came to as much of a halt as is possible. Which gave a rare opening for the American people to turn in a new direction.
That is exactly what we did. And I think we took a turn towards responsibility. Before we as a country we consumed, and discarded with little thought about where our trash built up. Now with the green initiative. There is a new thought about responsibility to the earth, to make less of a negative impact on the environment that we did the day before, and tomorrow to make even less of a negative impact. We are trying to be responsible stewards of this earth so that we can appreciate its beauty for generations to come.
Another evidence of this new direction is the idea that we are responsible to help others in need. More people have begun to volunteer since the economic downturn, and this new emphasis on social responsibility has begun to drive businesses to follow suit. With shows like EXTREME Home Makeover and others that are bringing communities together to help those in need. People want to get involved in this responsibility movement. It is to an extent that advertising is using this as a selling point. Corporations are donating to charities or causes when people purchase certain products. People want to help, responsibility is cool now.
We as America have turned a corner and now its time to hold on and see where this road takes us. Will this energy for responsibility fizzle out or is it just beginning? Only time will tell but what I do know is this. If we continue on this road with the idea of stewardship and responsibility in the forefronts of our minds, America can not only care for its own people but for so many others throughout the world.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Waiting for an answer
I was recently talking to a friend who is trying her best to hear God's voice in her life. This is something we all struggle with from time to time. One thing this nation does well is ask God questions, our problem lies in waiting for the answer. In the Old Testament days the Urim and Thummim (2 stones the priest carried with him) answered yes and no questions with a possible "no answer" depending on how you interpret the stones functionality.
How nice would it be to flip a coin, or roll a die and have God's answer. Right there in something we could see. Ask a yes or no question and get an answer right then and there. The problem then is what if it is not the answer you were hoping for. It is all to often that we ask a question but will only accept the answer we are looking for. Is it that God does not speak to us anymore or is it that we ask a question but we have a bad case of selective hearing when the answer is not to our liking.
God is speaking to us, He answers our questions, but often we don't want to accept it. We need to make a shift in our mentality when we ask a question. Instead of having the "correct" answer in mind we should humbly place ourselves at Jesus' feet and ask for guidance. God has given us methods of seeking his will: prayer, studying the Bible, meditation, and fasting are just a few. All three of these disciplines allow us to better listen to what God has to say. Yahweh provides for us all that we need, just not always in the way we would expect.
However sometimes we must wait for the answer, God does not always answer instantaneously like with the Urim and Thummim in the olden days. Instead we have to patiently wait for him to respond. This is hard to do in today's culture when everything is instant, we microwave food instead of baking it, we write e-mails instead of writing letters. The faster the better. But with the invention of one thing we lose another, and in this case it is our patience. Instead of being content with waiting a week or so for a response to a letter, if we don't have a replay in half an hour from an email something must be wrong.
You see not Yahweh that is ignoring us. It is us that moves on before the proper time for an answer. In Mat 14 Jesus takes himself away from the craziness of the world, to be with God. If you are asking God questions but you cant seem to hear him. Stop what you are doing, remove the distractions from the outside world, ie. cell phones, computer, TV, music. And make time to simply listen to God and only God. I'm not saying this is the sure fire way to get an answer from God but removing distractions can make God's voice a bit easier to hear.
How nice would it be to flip a coin, or roll a die and have God's answer. Right there in something we could see. Ask a yes or no question and get an answer right then and there. The problem then is what if it is not the answer you were hoping for. It is all to often that we ask a question but will only accept the answer we are looking for. Is it that God does not speak to us anymore or is it that we ask a question but we have a bad case of selective hearing when the answer is not to our liking.
God is speaking to us, He answers our questions, but often we don't want to accept it. We need to make a shift in our mentality when we ask a question. Instead of having the "correct" answer in mind we should humbly place ourselves at Jesus' feet and ask for guidance. God has given us methods of seeking his will: prayer, studying the Bible, meditation, and fasting are just a few. All three of these disciplines allow us to better listen to what God has to say. Yahweh provides for us all that we need, just not always in the way we would expect.
However sometimes we must wait for the answer, God does not always answer instantaneously like with the Urim and Thummim in the olden days. Instead we have to patiently wait for him to respond. This is hard to do in today's culture when everything is instant, we microwave food instead of baking it, we write e-mails instead of writing letters. The faster the better. But with the invention of one thing we lose another, and in this case it is our patience. Instead of being content with waiting a week or so for a response to a letter, if we don't have a replay in half an hour from an email something must be wrong.
You see not Yahweh that is ignoring us. It is us that moves on before the proper time for an answer. In Mat 14 Jesus takes himself away from the craziness of the world, to be with God. If you are asking God questions but you cant seem to hear him. Stop what you are doing, remove the distractions from the outside world, ie. cell phones, computer, TV, music. And make time to simply listen to God and only God. I'm not saying this is the sure fire way to get an answer from God but removing distractions can make God's voice a bit easier to hear.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)