Jesus Christ Really Does Change Lives

Year 1 Newsletter 24

A Passage from Charles Wagner's Book,

Take Every Passage to Prayer, Volume 3 - Acts Through Revelation

1 Corinthians 13

Father, help me to love others just like Jesus did. Help me to be an extraordinary lover of other people, not like the world loves, but a lover who is far more amazing. Make me patient, kind, not envious, humble, someone who honors others, selfless, slow-to-anger, forgiving, good, truthful, a protector, fully trusting in You, hopeful that the best is yet to come, and persevering. The world will be stunned by someone with that kind of love. The world will listen to what that kind of person has to say. Father, stun those who cross paths with me by the love I show and then, now that I have their attention, use me to bring the gospel to their hearts. Amen.

Father, what comfort is there for someone who feels they don’t have amazing spiritual gifts? What correction is there for someone who thinks they do have amazing spiritual gifts?

Spiritual gifts pale in comparison to one’s ability to love others.

Therefore, logically speaking, …

If all we can do is to love others, we are doing the very best thing there is to do. Jesus told us that Your law, Father, can be summed up by two commands: to love You with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.

This is good news for those who are certain they are not very gifted. Perhaps they don’t think they are very intelligent. They can still love others and, in so doing, they can do far more than those with all kinds of spiritual gifts and intelligence who do not love others.

What does authentic love look like?

• It is patient. No matter how exhausting or burdensome someone is, the believer continues to love them.
• It is kind. The believer thinks of nice things they can do for the other person to delight and encourage them.
• It does not envy. If the other person has better things than a believer, the believer celebrates with them. They hold no resentment against them for the blessings they have received.
• It is not proud. A believer does not go around with a “look at me” attitude. They are humble, willing to go unnoticed if necessary so that they can focus their attention on others.
• It does not dishonor others. A believer does not tear someone else down. They work in their life to build them up, so much so that, because of their efforts, the other person is honored in society.
• It is not selfish. The believer does not have a “me first” attitude. They let the other person go first.
• It is slow-to-anger. The believer remains gentle and calm, even when the other person has grievously offended them.
• It forgives. The believer does not hold grudges or carry bitterness against anyone. They forgive the person for everything they have done wrong.
• It loves goodness. If a believer truly loves someone, they will direct the person away from evil and wickedness. They won’t do things with them that could tempt them to do evil. They don’t go places where the wicked could hurt the person they love.
• It loves the truth. It is not loving to deceive someone or to allow them to be deceived by others. If a believer truly loves someone, they will do everything they can to lead them to what is true, genuine, and authentic.
• It protects. If a believer loves someone, they will protect them from harm. This may mean they will have disputes with the person because the person enjoys self-destructive activities or lifestyles. True love delivers someone from anything in their life that is harmful to them.
• It trusts. A true lover of others sees themselves as agents of Your love, Father, in the person’s life. They trust that You, Father, are pouring out Your love into that person’s life for a purpose that You will accomplish. They are excited to see how You will rescue and transform the person, no matter how unlikely that may seem.
• It hopes. If a believer loves someone, they are hopeful, optimistic, positive, and cheerful. They are not pessimistic or skeptical. They encourage the person that You, Father, are good and that all is well with the person’s life and with their future if they trust in You. A believer tells the person they love how You are the giver of good gifts. They express certitude that no matter how dreary today may seem that You, Father, will rescue, restore, renew, refresh, deliver, and transform.
• It perseveres. It never fails. If a believer loves someone, they will not quit on them. Never! No matter what they do to them, no matter how much they hurt them, and no matter how much they disappoint them, the believer will not abandon them or leave them. If they do, they did not truly love the person.
   

Spiritual Gifts Have an Expiration Date

There will come a time when we dwell and walk with Jesus, Father. We will see Him face-to-face. Prophecies will no longer be necessary. There will come a time when we will all speak the same heavenly language. There will be no need to speak in or understand different languages. All of our knowledge gained on earth will expire because we will dwell in a new heaven and a new earth when all things are made new. The spiritual gifts we have received are for this world, a broken and incomplete world, where our gifts bring the light of the gospel to those living in spiritual darkness. When everyone we dwell with walks with Jesus Christ and has been completely sanctified and transformed into His likeness, our spiritual gifts meant to evangelize, and disciple, will no longer be necessary. When that day comes, when we walk with Jesus and see Him face-to-face, we will become spiritual adults, having fully spiritually matured.

However, for the time being, in this world, we remain as something less than a full spiritual adult. A child? A teenager? Everything we do in this life is less than ideal and is certainly imperfect because we are not walking with Jesus face-to-face in glory. On that day we enter into His Kingdom, we will cast aside our spiritual immaturity, discarding it like old ratty clothes. We will put on new clothes, that of a spiritual adult who knows Jesus in full. We will be like an adult who discards the toys, speech, behaviors, and thoughts of his childhood.

Therefore, before we get all proud of our spiritual gifts, we should know that they won’t last. They are of this world only.

Faith, Hope, and Love

However, there are three things that will last from now throughout eternity.

The ideal world is not one where each individual has a perfect private relationship with Jesus. The ideal world is one where every individual loves everyone else perfectly because of their perfect relationship with Jesus. In the end, it is all about building a perfect society where millions, if not billions, celebrate Jesus Christ together. This is why love is the greatest. Amen.