Theme: "And Love Is...?" (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Encountered Rudeness Lately?

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we have described for us what love is and what it is not.  It is patient,

kind, it is not envious, not boastful, not proud, it is not rude, is not self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, etceteras.  

Paul says love IS NOT RUDE.  Webster defines rude or rudeness as a deliberate lack of consideration of another person’s feelings by actions or words.

I have been both on the receiving and giving end of rudeness.  I can't think of any situation that justifies a child of God by words or actions being rude to another person.  The Golden Rule reminds us that we are to "Do unto others as you would have them do to us” or "Treat others in the same manner you would want to be treated".

Some people justify rudeness as "righteous indignation" and can justify it in their minds even though it does not appear to be winsome to those witnessing it.

Some scriptures that come to mind that speak against rudeness are:

Philippians 4:5 – Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Ephesians 4:29 – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.

1 Peter 3:9 – Do not repay evil with evil, or insult with insult, but give a blessing instead because to this you were called.

1 Peter 4:11 – If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. 

Not anywhere in any of these scriptures is rudeness justified as a characteristic of a child of God.  We must always remember that "He who does not love does not know God for God is love."  Rudeness and love are very much on different ends of the spectrum from each other.

  

I think 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is one of the greatest chapters in the bible.  It reminds me that no matter what we do it is in vain if love isn’t in our thoughts and ways.   

"Our Heavenly Father, thank you for your love, grace, and mercy towards us.  We pray for strength as we strive to be the children that you have called us to be.  Father, forgive us for times  when we have been rude in speech or action towards others.  May we witness a sweet and loving spirit to those we come in contact with every day.  Through Jesus our Lord and Savior we ask it all. Amen.      

Rusty Rose
Stephenville, Texas

Theme: "And Love Is...?" (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Does Not Envy
Don’t you just hate it when you buy something and it’s new to you and wonderful and then before you know it, it’s outdated and something cooler has arrived? Well, so do the good people at Best Buy. I noticed a commercial this last week advertising a new program Best Buy offers (for a nominal fee I’m sure) where they will exchange what you bought from them if a newer, better model comes out within an allotted time window. Very cool, I thought to myself, while dreaming of buying things I don’t really need and then getting the new one as soon as it comes out.

Consumerism aside, this appeals to a bittersweet natural human characteristics: the desire to have the best. This can be a very righteous thing. For example, when a parent sacrifices all to provide for their child and give them a good life, the best. Or when we strive to improve ourselves for our loved ones, because they deserve the best me. Or when we sacrifice our time, energy, and first fruits to a cause or need, because God deserves my best.  However, we run into trouble when we begin to feel like we are owed the best and resent those who have it and want it for ourselves. We call this envy.

Among many other things, I Corinthians 13 describes genuine love as not envious. In Luke 14 Jesus tells those present that if there is something that you want or that others desire, his true followers will give it away rather than take it for themselves. Holy love does not envy because holy love desires to give more than receive. Take time this week to read all of I Corinthians 13 and may you take an opportunity to express this righteous love to those you encounter.

Father, give me a heart that does not envy after the life, things, relationships, and gifts of others. Fill me with joy and love for the blessings of others and remove my human selfishness. May my love be righteous and my heart rest with you. Thank you for all the blessings I’ve received. Amen.

Chris Palmer

Beaumont, Texas

Theme: And Love Is...? (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Real Love Can’t Go There

Usually when the word love pops up in conversation it is natural to go to the warm fuzzy thoughts. Love makes us think of great memories, beautiful gestures and special people. It is easy to think of the “good stuff” involved with love. What love does for us and what we do for LOVE. Love is great for movie stars and song writers. Many awards have gone to those who have tapped into the “love” bug.

When looking at 1 Corinthians 13, Paul begins to explain how important love is. He discusses the importance of finding the ability to experience a true and genuine love through several examples. Paul states that you can give to the hungry, surrender your body or have faith that could move a mountain…but if you don’t have love, it amounts to nothing. Love is a key element in possessing the true spirit of Christianity.

So, do you have love in your life? I would quickly respond yes and justify that by thinking of the people I love and the love that is shown to me. The love I have for friends, that makes me want to volunteer help to them when in need. The love I have to serve when the opportunity is presented….. Yes, love is in my life – check, check, check!

But the flip side of encompassing the spirit of the emotion is to realize what should not be done when someone is filled with love.  I feel that developing this love is a never ending process. Consequently, this was a difficult article for me to write because it takes age and wisdom to develop a complete and genuine love.

Love does not brag
People who truly love refrain from rehearsing their good traits, particularly when others are critical of them. Bragging in a relationship often assumes the guise of defensiveness. When someone makes and accusation against us our typical reaction is to prove them wrong.  We may even list all the instances that counterbalance the charges. That is boasting.  If we possess God's kind of love, rather than jump into defense mode against the accusations by boasting of the good things, we should explore the feelings that have surfaced and do something to relieve them.  Love does not brag.

Love is not arrogant
People who truly love do not stubbornly insist that their way is best and demand that others give in. Arrogance, like boasting, can come in different sizes and shapes; it often erupts in the "I know best--we'll do it my way" stance. It is easy to put others down in an arrogant fashion. Our culture tends to think that the individual who can, snap-snap-snap and “I told you so” is the stronger.  However, if we embrace God's kind of love we will carefully consider the other person’s point of view. This is what love does. It does not make us visible but rather makes others visible to us.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Please allow us to understand and experience love in our lives. Be with us as we stretch out to love those around us. Give us the strength to see the opportunities that you provide. Thank you for the blessings you give and love you share.
In your Son’s name we pray~
AMEN.

Ashleigh Feuerbacher

Stephenville, Texas

Theme: "And Love Is...?" (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Not Easily Angered

As summer approaches Vacation Bible School signs are popping up everywhere.   When I see a sign the following song comes to mind:
“Booster, Booster, be a Booster
Don’t be grouchy like a rooster,
Booster, Booster, be a Booster,
And boost our Bible School!”

Children and roosters aren’t the only ones that don’t need to be grouchy.  1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us that Love is not easily angered or provoked.  In Greek “easily angered,” literally means irritable and resentful or counting up wrong doing.  

Everyone has their grouchy moments, but when we choose to live in a grouchy state of mind we are essentially taking God’s gift of love and placing a big “RETURN TO SENDER” sticker on it and refusing to open it.

The letter to the Corinthians reminds us that love is the greatest gift God has given us.  Love heals the broken hearted, draws us into relationship with God and each other, and equips us to do and to act as Jesus does.  We love because Christ first loved us through his sacrifice on the cross (1 John 14).  The question isn’t what love is, but who is God?  God is love.  God conquers all things through LOVE.  Love is the catalyst by which God makes us a new creation and is the inoculation that he uses to right all the wrongs Satan tries to inject into our lives.

Love also has staying power.  Long after a loving act is completed or a kind gesture shown, love lingers on reminding people of how much we (through Jesus) love them.  That awesome work can only come through the power of God!  God’s intention is that we live and act in this love every day, but sin in the form of envy, rudeness, pushiness, irritability, resentfulness, and general wrong doing can easily “gum up the works” and prevent love from manifesting itself fully.  

It is important when we are in situations that easily provoke our anger to choose love.  Whether we are a worn out teacher facing the tail end of a long school year, a stay-at-home mom with demanding little ones, or a busy executive under a deadline, we can choose love over grouchiness.  All we have to do is turn to God and let his love reign over our lives and relationships.  He is there waiting with an unceasing, steadfast love all wrapped up and ready to be opened.

We can also remember the wise words of Dory, the blue tang fish from the movie Finding Nemo to Marlin the easily angered clown fish:
“Dory: Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?
Marlin: No I don't wanna know.
Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.
Marlin: Dory, no singing.
Dory: [continuing] Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim.”

Dear Father, thank you for your steadfast, healing and supportive love.  Your gift of love is amazing.   It is our desire to live and act in your love.  Forgive us when we give in to sin and choose irritability over loving kindness.  Help us when we feel like we can’t escape a bad mood even when we desire to do so.   Through the love of your son and because of his sacrifice we pray these things, Amen.

Dana Jaworski
Anchor Point, AK

Theme: "And Love Is..." (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

“Love Keeps no Record of Wrongs”

Memories!  They can be a blessing or a curse.  There are some memories we want to hold on to. I will never forget the special memory of sitting on a curb beside my grandmother while visiting “Craters of the Moon” in Idaho.  As we sat resting, she recited I Corinthians 13, known as the “love chapter” in the Bible.  I have no idea when she committed this passage to memory.  But, she recited it without hesitation and perfectly.  As I reflect on her life, I can see how her love and faith have impacted my own life.  Just as she was still walking a mile a day into her eighties, she was also committed to her daily Bible reading.  Her love of God and obedience to His will was evident throughout her life.  No doubt she recalled this passage many times and it got her through some of the difficulties she often faced.

Just as there are memories we need to remember, there are some we need to forget.  Speaking about love in I Corinthians 13:5 Paul simply says,

“It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”  

We find in I Samuel 18 – 24, the story of King Saul’s jealousy after David had killed Goliath. David had gained the love and respect of Saul’s Son, Jonathan, who came to David’s defense when he learned that Saul was trying to kill David.  I Samuel 19:4, “Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, ‘Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.  He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine.  The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad.  Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?” Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”  

However, it wasn’t long before Saul once again tried to kill David with his spear while David was playing the harp.  Saul continued his pursuit of David but as the story goes, it was David who was given the opportunity to kill Saul.   I Samuel 24:10-11, “This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave.  Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’  See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand!  I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you.  Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion.  I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life.”

Saul finally answers after weeping aloud, “You are more righteous than I.  You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly” (1 Samuel 24:17).

Most of us can probably agree that the “record of wrongs” we keep pale in comparison to the wrongs David suffered at the hand of Saul.  Like David, the wrongs done to us usually stem from jealousy, greed, anger, hurt, slander, rebellion, misunderstandings, hate, selfishness, possibly even laziness or others which Satan helps us to justify and harbor.  Although we may not want to admit it, keeping a record of wrongs is sinful and prevents us from being effective in our service to God.  Anything that takes our focus from God and service to our fellowman is a distraction and we must face it, deal with it and with the help of God’s Spirit working in us remove it from our memory.  I have often heard it said, “Well, I can forgive

, but can never forget”.  Really?

Does it take more effort to forget than to remember?  It is our choice.  Christ said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Christ is the ultimate example of perfection when it comes to “keeping no record of wrongs”!  How guilty are we of continuing to nail Him to the cross with our petty, self-centered, “life just isn’t fair” attitudes. Christ says in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.”

“Thank you, dear God, for not only telling us what love is, but for showing us through Your Son, who keeps no record of wrongs.  Make us aware when we wrong others and give us the courage to make things right with them so that our hearts will be right with You.  Through Jesus I pray, Amen”    

Jan Alderfer

Stephenville, TX

Theme: And Love Is...? (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

LOVE IS KIND

In Aesop’s fable, The Lion and the Mouse, a Lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying:

“If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed, knowing the Mouse could never repay him, but he let him go. It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came and gnawed the rope with his teeth and set him free.

The moral of this story is stated in the last line of the fable:
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” 

Kindness in scripture is most often equated with love, and is usually interchangeable with mercy and goodness.  Kindness is the visible action of love directed toward others.

First of all, God is kind to us, so we should be kind to others.  Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Kindness is also a fruit of the Spirit.  Many years ago I learned the fruits of the Spirit by thinking of them as actual fruits.  I can still see that picture in my mind today.  Of those 9 “fruits” listed in Galatians 5:22, kindness (an apple in my picture) is right in the middle. Kindness is the fruit of the Spirit that holds us together.

The 13th chapter of I Corinthians tells us what love is (and isn’t.)  But the 13th chapter cannot be separated from the 12th chapter, in which Paul addressed the arguments that were going on in that church regarding spiritual gifts.  He tells us that nothing is as important as love, “And now I will show you the most excellent way.”  First on the list…love is patient and kind.  Kindness was lacking in the Corinthian church. It wasn’t kindness that made one believer look down upon and criticize the gifts and abilities of another. Kindness is not the spirit that produces strife and hard feelings in the Church, or in the family, or in the world.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:12-16.)

Several years ago Randy used this scripture in one of the first sermons he preached at our church. I think he quoted it from memory; then he said “Now that’s church.”  There were other scriptures in that series of lessons about which he made the same point. I marked them all in my Bible with a little drawing of a church steeple, and I’ve thought about them and re-read them many times. They all have something to say about the way we should treat one another with kindness.  And about the love and unity and peace that is church.

It’s easy to be unkind.  There are television news shows and specials all the time about high school, middle school, and even grade school children bullying other kids. And it seems to me that there are more “reality” shows on tv now than any other type of program. Some of them are pretty entertaining. But in most of them the winner is not the kindest person in the contest.  For the most part the top players in reality television are the unkind ones, never hesitating to say or do something rude, crude, or mean to get to the top.

Speaking of shows, an all time favorite movie of my family is “Lonesome Dove.”  Tommy Lee Jones plays Woodrow Call. He and his partner, Augustus McRae played by Robert Duvall, lead a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.  A memorable line in the movie is when a soldier is bullying a couple of Woodrow’s men.  Woodrow comes to their defense, and afterwards he says “I hate rude behavior in a man. I just won’t tolerate it.” Our culture tolerates rude, angry, unkind behavior. No one really likes this, but it has become so commonplace that we seem to have just accepted it.

We are told in I Peter 3:8-9 not to tolerate or accept rude, unkind behavior.

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

As we treat people, both inside and outside the church, with mercy and kindness they will be able to see Christ in us. And we will inherit the blessing.

Dear Lord, I know I often fall short of the standard you have set. Help me to love others more, to be always kind, to be gentle rather than harsh, and to be merciful and generous.  May I be salt and light through Jesus. Amen

Lynn Anne Hughes

Stephenville, Texas

Theme: "And Love Is...?" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Love is Patient and Longsuffering

I really enjoy listening to an audio reading of 1 Corinthians 13. It is such a soothing passage about how people should act toward others.  We hear it read at many weddings, even royal weddings.  I hope Prince William and Kate, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will take the scripture reading from their fairy tale

wedding, and put it into action. The “Love” chapter should not be reserved only for weddings.  It is wonderful guide for all of us.

One of the characteristics of love is patience, also called longsuffering.  There are a few people we know who are patient (it is a virtue, you know), and there are all of the others of us.  It is difficult to be patient, to wait. Patience is a foundation for other moral qualities and it leads to genuine happiness. Love and patience are both fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5; they are linked.

Two friends come to my mind who have been especially patient during their lives, in both cases there were extreme tests of their love and their character. The trials these two individuals endured involved people they loved; one a very self-willed child, the other an alcoholic husband. From the outside looking in, one would think the patient persons have certainly endured more than their shares of difficulties and tribulation.  These were cases that tested Jesus’ directive to forgive your brother not just seven times, but seventy times seven. There are not happy endings for my two friends, but they have both influenced me, encouraged me, were examples to me! If my friends do not have happiness here on earth, they certainly will enjoy the rest provided for them in Heaven. Patience is really a virtue to be desired.

Dear Lord, Help me to be patient, and to encourage others to follow your ways.

Sherilyn Svien

Stephenville, TX