Fruit of the Spirit: Love

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love…”    ~Gal. 5:22

Brothers,

     In the New Testament, there are two words used for love: agape and phileo.  Agape love is a charitable love.  It is the word used for love in this passage and so I’ll do my best to explain a little bit about it. Most people today use the word love in a completely different way than it is used in Scripture. Take, for example, 1 Cor. 13. Now, would you say that that chapter’s definition of love is the same as the definition you would find in a modern day dictionary? No. Unlike modern “love”, Biblical love is pure, selfless, and courageous. In John 3:16 we have perhaps the greatest example in Scripture of agape love: that God so loved the world, that He sent His Son to die in ridicule and shame on a tree He had created. The world did not want Him; it did not desire Him. And yet, God so loved us that He chose to ignore our shouts of defiance and show us mercy by giving us what we needed, not what we asked for. For every heart that has not been raised to new life utterly rejects our Savior. Now I know that is a quick run through of such an important fruit, but I want to give you a few case scenarios. (For some reason, I love using case scenarios :).

     When I was a boy, I wasn’t always very kind when I didn’t get my way. Sometimes I would just be rebuked; other times I would be spanked. Now to me, wooden spoons meant two different things. When one was held by the handle, it meant it was a stirring utensil. When it was held from the other side, it was an instrument of pain. Obviously, I never liked getting spanked, yet my parents, because they loved me, knew that it was better for me to have to endure pain than for me to get my way. Love in this case is kind.

     A while back, I watched a short movie about a family who was trying to escape from their home during WWII because Germans were quickly approaching. As they fled, they reached a flowing river. Though it was only about 20 feet wide, it was fairly swift and was about 4 feet deep in the middle. But that was not all. It was the middle of winter and the water was icy cold. In the family there were two small children who, if they tried to cross on their own, would either be swept away or would drown. The father, stopping only to take off his jacket, picked up the first child and waded across, at times with water up to his chest. Once across, he waded back, picked up the next child and crossed again. Then he went across one final time, picked up his wife and carried her across. At the end, he had crossed the icy river 6 times without a jacket and when he got out, with wet clothes he began leading his family through the snow to freedom. That father’s love was not only courageous, but it was selfless.

     There will be many times in your life where your path will be blocked by a river.  It might be a river that your friends and family face with you.  When you reach that river, you will be faced with a question: will you sacrifice yourself so that they may cross over dry? Will you give your time and energy to serve others, knowing that the more you help, the less they have to do? When you are confronted by others, will you protect your friend’s reputation, even if you are ridiculed and scorned? Ultimately, will you show the same kind of love your Savior showed for you?

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

Love One Another

Corey,

One of most important things that we need to have is love. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:1, says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

Paul, in the same chapter, lists all of the different qualities of love: Love is patient, love doesn’t envy, love isn’t proud, is not rude, is not selfish, not provoked, thinks no evil, doesn’t rejoice in evil, but in truth; love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things and never fails (paraphrased list).

We need to love as Christ loves us. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

We need to love one another. Remember that all have sinned and Christ loves us even though we are sinners.

Your BIC,

Nick

Ways of Destructive Speech

"What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar." ~Proverbs 19:22

Nick,
We often hear the phrase, "If you have nothing good to say, don't speak at all." We've talked about this before, but I want to look at it in a different way. As Christians, we are commanded to do more than "not speak". We are to love our enemies. We should be more anxious to say good things than bad; encouraging words rather than destructive utterances. When we are called names behind our backs, ridiculed and mocked, we should not return their speech with equally bad language of our own. Instead we should seek to show kindness to them. We should not lie and say things we don't believe. We should either speak words that build up, or not speak at all.

Perhaps the hardest place to put this into effect is in our own homes. Because that is true, however, it makes our homes the best, as well as the most worthwhile, place to practice. But destructive language comes in many forms. The first is the simple, "He did ___", with "___" being something destructive. The second is in the form, "I could do it better." The third is, "Well he's good at that, but I'm good at ____" The last two are different from the first in one way: they put the speaker a level above the other person. But this type of comment will only make the other person resentful. Let it be known that you never speak an offensive word, but rather challenge and "sharpen" others with your words. As the verse says, "What is desired in a man is kindness." If you can not only show forgiveness, but also show kindness to your enemies, how great will be your reward! If we are to show this loving-kindness to strangers, even enemies, how much easier it should be for us to show that same love to our friends and more importantly our family! The Lord continues to test me in this area, yet oh! how miserably I fail! How many times have I spoken before I have thought! May you not have the same struggle! Go forth with love on your lips and good will in your heart!

Your Brother In Christ
Corey

Unconditional Love

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." ~John 3:16

Nick,
Praise the lord for His infinite mercy! Praise Him for the greatest Sacrifice anyone could ever imagine! This letter is the last of the TULIP series. Oour Letter for today is "U": Unconditional Love. The whole Bible shouts this out. Even in passages like Num. 16:31-35 we see God's mercy. If you remember the passage, it talks about how the earth swallowed up Korah and those with him and afterwards how a fire consumed 250 men. Though this mainly shows His justice it shows mercy in that everyone there deserved to die. We all deserve to die. Our actions don't save us; they only prove that we do indeed deserve to perish. But God forgives us not seventy times seven, but seven million times seven million times seven million........ We are creations that have turned against their Maker, but instead of crushing us, He turns a few back to Himself. He cares not for what we have done, He knew we would do it before the foundations of the earth/ He instead cares about the heart and transforms it from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. He is truly a great God. We deserved death and He granted us life. we should have been cast from Him forever, but His love is so great that he draws us to Himself. Praise and thank Him constantly for His unconditional love! Praise the Lord!

Your Brother in Christ,
Corey