Last week in our Step 4 spiritual inventory study we talked about what it means to commune with God and other people, to know and to be known on a deep, meaningful level. We were made to commune with God and people around us. Our lifelong fulfillment, satisfaction and joy comes from that communion. Our eternal destiny in Christ is to commune with God and all who are united to Him through faith in Christ.
Tonight we are going to begin a discussion of the healing
and uniting power of Godly love. What
does love have to do with communion and recovery? God’s love for us is the
reason communing with Him is possible. True love incorporates what is needed
for communion. We are going to take an extended look at 1 Corinthians 13 which
provides God’s description of love. The world tells us a very different story
about what love is and as usual, the world has it all wrong. Tonight we start
with two pillars of love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4a.
I encourage you
to read 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 right now.
Two
Pillars of Love:
God’s detailed definition of love begins with this, “Love suffers
long and is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4a). The Greek word translated “suffers
long” or “is patient” means to withstand aggravation without complaint. Jesus
spoke to this with Peter and the disciples, giving an accompanying illustration
in Matthew 18:22-27:
Then
Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to
you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom
of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his
servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who
owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master
commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had,
and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying,
‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of
that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
In our spiritual examination, how patient are you with close
family? How patient are you with extended family and friends? How patient are
you with acquaintances and strangers? How patient are you with those who hate
you? Perhaps these are better answered in light of God’s patience with you.
On the drive down here tonight for CR to talk about loving
patience, I found myself frustrated when the car in front of me on a narrow,
twisting road stopped to pick someone up, blocking the road for what seemed a
long time. I’m sure it was actually less than a minute, but come on, pull over
and let me pass! I wasn’t very patient. Now I didn’t lay on the horn, didn’t
shout obscenities out the window and I didn’t make any gestures. From all
appearances I was calm. In my mind, however, I was offended at the audacity of
this person to needlessly hold up traffic. I have no idea who the person was so
I cannot confess to them, but I am confessing it now. It happens so easily,
especially when not face-to-face with the other person; that is a real problem
with social media by the way. You and I can get caught up in what we need or
want to do and if someone hinders that in anyway, any patience we may have had
goes out the window. When you add difficult circumstances to the mix like
health issues, the loss of a family member or friend, financial stress, your
addiction or dealing with someone else’s addiction it is all the more difficult
to love with a patient and long-suffering type of love. It is impossible, in
fact, to be patient in those situations unless you and I are clinging to Christ
and yielded to the Holy Spirit.
The second
pillar is to be kind and we’ll get into what that means next week.
Conclusion
How much do we really know about
Godly love? Moreover, knowing about
love is far different than knowing love. Communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit
is recovery. Our level of loving patience and kindness toward others is an
indicator of the kind of communion with have with God. Perhaps spiritual
inventory reveals there is room for improvement. It’s time to let God renew
your mind and heart. Spend some time with Him this week in that endeavor by
reading and meditating upon 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.Pastor Mark
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