…on the theme of LOVE - 2007.05.26

"Charity [Love] never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." — I Cor. 13:8-11

Every now and then in human experience some tragic individual comes along that, due to some genetic disorder, grows old, but never grows up. Such are a hazard to themselves, and a heavy burden on their society. We pity these pathetic individuals but, thankfully, they are relatively few in number.

Even more tragic are those in the church who fail to come to spiritual maturity. They account for the present fragmentation of the church God intended to be "one body," imbued with "one Spirit" united in "One Lord, one faith, one baptism [under] one God and Father of all… " (Cf. Eph. 4:1-6), into scores if not hundreds of competing and sometimes conflicting denominations and factions, each esteeming themselves better than the other.

It was this party spirit, and the pride that sponsored it and other ills, that prompted the apostle to pen this epistle (see I Cor. 3:1-11). Love: not "good feeling" love, but the kind of spontaneous, self denying love the characterizes God and was supremely manifested on planet earth in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is the remedy for all our ills, and the key to the maturity that reveals the church for what it really is. It is not the charisma of ecstatic tongues speaking, nor the miraculous foresight of prophesy nor the demonstration of exceptional spiritual insight that brings the church into its own. It is Love, and love alone, that "never fails."

Tongues, however impressive of spiritual ecstasy; prophecy, however endowed with spiritual foresight; knowledge, however advanced in spiritual insight— all, without Love, become the stuff of argument and controversy, and their proponents like "little children playing," and ultimately fail to illuminate the Truth or to glorify God. In short, those who exercise spiritual gifts without this Love are, at best, spiritually immature, though that is contrary to the way most of us think. The gifts are not to be discounted, as the following chapter makes evident, but they must be subordinated to Love, and are declared worthless without it ( v.1-3).

Love ought not (and indeed must not) be devoid of spiritual evidences, vision and understanding, but all without it add up to "zero." The Holy Spirit is here urging those who prize and parade the gifts above the Giver to "grow up into Him Who is the head of all things," and manifest with humility and grace the character of the God who is Love. Failing that, the church becomes a caricature of God— as is much of the visible church today.

The church, by Divine design, was intended to be a mirror focused upon God and reflecting His glory and beauty to a wayward, weary world. Instead, because we have focused on elements of the truth instead of Him who IS the Truth, the mirror is shattered and lies in fragments. Here and there a sliver is focused heavenward, and there are glimpses of glory. And for now, because generally we have failed to learn the lessons God would teach through this magnificent revelation, that is about the best we have to offer a desperately needy world. Be a fragment of blessing! "Put away childish things."

"May the love of Jesus fill me, As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing— This is victory.
May His beauty rest upon me As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel, Seeing only Him."

*Selected from the hymn, "MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST MY SAVIOUR" by Kate B. Wilkinson

For the God of glory,

"Pastor" Frasier

…on the theme of LOVE - 2007.05.19

Charity [Love] "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." — I Cor. 13:7

As Love,— this Love of God Who is Love, and the Love He imparts to surrendered hearts— as this love confronts the "real world," in which so much is flawed and failing, certain qualities are manifest, in addition to those which have appeared in preceding verses. These qualities have to do with how the Love controlled believer relates to others.

Perhaps we should notice first that "all things," which follows each expression of Love, is a generalization not necessarily implying "all" without exception. It is intended, in my judgment, to give broad scope to the prevailing disposition of those in whom this Love is manifested. There may be qualified exceptions, but in principle this is how such Love behaves.

Love bears all things. The implication of the word underlying the translation here is that love "bears with" the faults and failures of others, neither publicizing them to their embarrassment and shame, nor abandoning them because of their faults. This quality is illustrated in Joseph's love for Mary when he found her "with child" and, supposing her guilty of infidelity was, "not willing to make her a public example, [but] was minded to put her away privately [Matt. 1:19]." He would not have ignored what he perceived as a painful fault in her, but would bear it quietly. So does the Love of God deal gently with our transgressions, and instruct us to do the same with others.

Love believes all things. Here the idea is that of Love maintaining a positive attitude toward others, even in unlikely circumstances, until there is no alternative. When the apostle Paul was made to appear before king Agrippa he was moved, in the course of his testimony and in the face of Festus' accusation that "much learning doth make thee mad (Acts 26:24ff)," to turn to Agrippa with the question, "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets?" But, before the king could answer Paul declared, "I know that thou believest." It was the expression of a positive assumption, giving, as we might say, 'the benefit of the doubt' to the king. Love is not suspicious; it believes in everyone until one proves himself undeserving of its trust.

Love hopes all things. Where Love sees undeniable failure, it nevertheless maintains confidence that the subject is not beyond hope but may be revived and restored in another day. It is this alone which will enable us to follow through with the injunction, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted [Gal. 6:1]." Love, in short, never gives up on anyone.

Love endures all things. When harassed or attacked, Love perseveres. It does not collapse under pressure of opposition. This quality is seen first and foremost in the Savior Himself, when from the cross He cries to the Father in behalf of His antagonists, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And, it is reflected at our level in the cry of Stephen when his adversaries were stoning him to death, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge [Acts 7:60]."

All of this must lead me to ask, how evident is this Love of God in my life? How well do I bear with the faults of others and "cover the multitude of sins?" Or am I prone to air their faults and publicize their failures?

How inclined am I to believe in others, with or without evidence? Or am I inclined rather to expect them to fail, and be self congratulating when they do?

How much hope do I translate into believing prayer for those who have disappointed me in the past? Or have I shrugged them off as hopeless— or worthless?

And finally, how well have I maintained a positive attitude toward those who oppose me, seeking earnestly and unfailingly their forgiveness and grace, rather than their condemnation?

These are standards by which my Love may be tested. Thoughtful, honest reflection can be painfully embarrassing, for the Savior said, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples… " Shortfall in my Love life marks shallowness in my relationship with Him.

For our good and His glory,

"Pastor" Frasier

Post Delay

Due to being away from a PC the next installment from Pastor Fraiser will be delayed until late next week.

Godspeed,
Wesley

…on the theme of LOVE - 2007.05.12

"Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth" — I Cor. 13:5

Charity (i.e. the Love that God is, and the love His Holy Spirit sheds abroad in the dedicated believer's heart (Rom. 5:5)) must not to be confused with sentimentality. Love has hard edges, and its perimeters are defined by God's holiness. Love is morally discriminating, and its moral ground is the character of God, as revealed to us in His word— "the Truth."

A sincere, but misguided preacher heard of late declared that if we are filled with the Spirit we will not hate anything. That is simply not true. If we are filled with the Spirit, we will love what God loves, and hate what He hates. The Psalmist writes, "… I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way [Ps. 119:128]." And again, "Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies [Ps. 139:19-22]" Granted that under grace we may take a more tolerant attitude toward the sinner; we must nevertheless take no more compromising attitude toward sin.

Sin undermines the truth and destroys life. Love will reprove it, and that sharply. "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby [Heb. 12:6-11]." Love disciplines its children!

Such a passage is the ground for church and family discipline. It should alert us to the need to abhor sin in our own lives, and instruct us regarding the need to reprove it, in love, in the lives of our famijly members and fellow believers. The Lord, in His call to holiness for Israel (Lev. 19:1ff) declared, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him [Lev. 19:17]." The principle is carried over into the church, and if we Love family and fellow believers we will seek in Love to restore them when they go astray. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted [Gal. 6:1]."

We live in a culture that has increasingly repudiated God's law, and seems to sin with impunity. We live in a day when men not only pursue iniquity, but entertain themselves with the sins of others, both real and imagined. Even the "news," in this "information age," thrives by dramatizing and magnifying what scripture clearly identifies as iniquity; "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them [Rom. 1:32]." If the Love of God is prevailing in our hearts, we will hate the sin in our society and our world. We cannot effectively change it, but we can allow the Love of God to change us, so that we stand in genuine contrast to the world around us.

Certainly one of the tests for the presence of God's Love in our hearts is in what things we find our cause for rejoicing. May we find it in the word of God which is the Truth written, and by it fix our focus on the Son of God Who is the Truth living, "Whom having not seen [we] love; in Whom, though now we see Him not, yet believing, [we] rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory [I Pet. 1:8]."

Take the world, but give me Jesus, All its joys are but a name;
But His love abideth ever, Through eternal years the same.
Oh, the height and depth of mercy! Oh thee length and breadth of love!
Oh the fullness of redemption, Pledge of endless life above!
— F. Crosby

For our greater good,

"Pastor" Frasier

…on the theme of LOVE - 2007.05.05

Charity [Love] "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil." — I Cor. 13:5

It seemed appropriate to me to dissect the previous verse and treat each element on its own. It seems equally appropriate to treat this verse just the opposite, the reasons for which I trust will become obvious as we progress.

"Love," our text declares, "does not behave itself unseemly." Unseemly is a word not often used in our vocabulary today, but it means "improper." To turn the thought from the negative to the positive, Love is always characterized by good behavior— and that, of course, by Divine definition. Love behaves the way God behaves. This Love is demonstrated supremely, of course, and as we have noted before, in our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "I do always those things that please Him," and that eventuates in behavior consistent with the Father's will. Again He said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." When you see Christ behaving, you see the way God behaves, and that is the behavior of the God who IS Love. When a believer behaves prompted by Love, the disposoition of heart and the same pattern of conduct will be evident.

What prompts "unseemly" behavior? Three things are implied in the remaining clauses of this verse. The first is self-seeking. Envy, self exaltation and an inflated ego (v.4) are essentially attitudes; self seeking is attitude translated into action. We define the turf we deem "ours," and set about to acquire or defend it in ways that are inconsistent with Love, which "seeketh not her own."

The second is self-sensitivity, which is easily irritated. Love, in contrast, "is not easily provoked." That is, Love is not touchy. The self-seeking disposition is; it reacts negatively to any invasion of its territory, any infringement on its "rights," any undermining of its position or power, real or imagined, any diminishing of popularity.

And the third is a suspicious or vindictive nature. Love "thinketh no evil." That is to say, Love entertains no negative thoughts toward others, however it may be treated. It entertains no suspicion of, nor hostility toward those who in reality or in our imagination have treated us badly.

All of this is supremely illustrated in Christ, as we have suggested above. In Love He Who "knew no sin" surrendered all that was legitimately His own, including His very life, to become "sin for us." In the course of His earthly life and ministry, He is never seen as irritated or annoyed, despite the opposition He encountered. And so devoid of "evil thoughts" was He that from the humiliation, agony and indignity of the cross His heart cry was, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

This quality of utter selflessness can never be natively ours. It is reflected in us only if and when we have surrendered self to the Lordship of Christ. The revivalist Leonard Ravenhill caught the essence of it in his little plaque which read, "The Christian who assesses himself as being crucified with Christ has no ambitions, and so has nothing to be jealous about; He has no reputation, and so has nothing to fight about; He has no possessions, and therefore, nothing to worry about. He has no "rights" so, therefore, he can suffer no wrong. He is already dead, so no one can kill him."

"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." — Gal. 6:14

That is God's cure for "unseemly" behavior!

For the glory of God,

"Pastor" Frasier