How are we to act as followers of Christ?
Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking; it is not provoked, nor overly sensitive or easily angered; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears all things regardless of what comes their way, believes all things looking for the best in each one, hopes all things remaining steadfast during difficult times, endures all things without weakening. [1 Corinthians 13:4-7 The Amplified Bible]
If you want to know how God defines “love” then look no further than the passage shown above; 1 Corinthians 13... the Love Chapter. The world has it all wrong. Generally speaking, they’ve mixed up love with lust. Just because you go to bed with someone doesn’t necessarily mean you love them. That approach can cause a large amount of consternation on the part of both parties involved. The woman who wanted kids but NOT NOW!! The man who didn’t want the commitment that comes with raising a child... so he vanishes adding another number to the already growing single parent ranks. THAT is not love. That is the height of selfishness. Having “fun” without dealing with the inevitable consequences.
Love is SELFLESS. Love views the other person are more important than you are. Love is a 100-100 proposition; not 50-50 as the experts say. Love is either ALL IN or NOT ALL IN. It MUST be 100% ALL IN for both parties. God IS LOVE and therefore is 100% invested in His relationship with those He created. No regrets. No hesitancy. Just full bore, unselfish, unconditional love for all.
Does the Lord get frustrated with His creation? Because His purposes are set from the foundations of the earth, nothing man can say or do even begin to thwart God’s plans. He’s knows we are frail and fault ridden. We say and do dumb things; however, it’s not as if God doesn’t know us so well that these mistakes take Him by surprise.
We are asked to emulate Christ in our daily life. We can never use the excuse that we don’t know how God wants us to act, for the blueprint is clearly revealed in 1 Corinthians. Don’t fight knowing the Lord; embrace that relationship and allow your faith and trust in God to thrive amidst the chaos that rages all around us. Until next time, live your life following God’s statutes, with no regrets, and thrive in Jesus name.
In His Name & for His Glory,
RL Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
