Category: love

Unity

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 20-21

Poetry: Proverbs 6

New Testament: Ephesians 4

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush spoke to the emergency workers in Ground Zero through a megaphone, finding a response that resonated with the entire country and even more, the world, “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of it soon.” A historical 92% of the country approved of the job he was doing, bringing together a country that was fraying at the seams in the previous election cycle. It is hard to imagine something similar happening today; no matter who is the president-elect in November, half of the country will be instantly dissatisfied with the results.  These are typical terms we accept in our government, but also this “majority rules” culture has historically found its way into boardrooms and even churches. Let me quickly lower the tension by stating that today’s devotion is not about politics or presidents.  It does not upend or chastise any church form of government. Its sole purpose is to examine the expectation of unity laid out for the church body, as it might be equally unimaginable. 

This spirit of unity was on the mind of Jesus before being arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. He prays for his disciples and all believers when he leaves us the following words, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. (John 17:11b)” Jesus knew his departure to the cross would scatter His apostles, create infighting, and feed doubt. Fortunately, with the exception of Judas, each of them found their way back to a unified front. Having seen Jesus Christ raised to life, they each waited for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  They each dedicated their lives to sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God. They each shared in martyrdom or exile for the sake of Christ.

In the same manner, I have seen churches unite during revival, when facing tragedy, or during persecution from the outside. It is easy for the dross to fall away when the metal is hot, but what about when the metal starts to cool? What does unity look like in maintenance mode? Within the day-to-day routine of uniting relationships, mulling through ministries, and discerning what is best for a body of believers? In Ephesians 4, Paul describes this as “walk[ing] in a manner worthy of the calling, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

While there could be a devotion on each of the elements of this verse, let’s quickly unpack the key points given to Ephesus. First, walking implies that it is not a quick process, but instead requires some dedication to go the distance (Eph 2:10). Next, humility is the acknowledgement that self-reflection should be the first step in the process, making adjustments and amendments when necessary (Matt 7:3-5; Phil 2:3), and gentleness is the grace that is extended to my brother and sisters during this same process, as imperfect people try to discern the will of God (Col 4:6). Additionally, we are required to commit to patience and love, easily spoken but in reality, conflict makes us more unbearable to one another (Col 3:12-14; Matt 18:15-20). In the body of believers, this is similar to taking the last rep of weight training, it burns the most, but it is the one that produces the result. Finally, eagerness to maintain unity means we stay focused on what unites us (Rom 14:19), defending against the six things the Lord hates (Prov. 6:16-19), and keep our mission far away from doctrinal nuances or extra-biblical preferences.

Unity takes far more work than building a majority.  It isn’t a compromise or consensus because there are no losers. We grow as one together. We move towards one another as we move towards our Heavenly Father. Today, let us be extra mindful in our prayer time to dwell on the topic of unity and ask God to reveal our vision and repair divisions that may exist.  May we live out the prayer of Jesus and the petitions of Paul to become one like our God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Where and when have you experienced or seen the beauty of a united church body?
  2. Dedication, humility, gentleness/grace, patience, love, focused on what unites. How can you exhibit these qualities today? How can you use them to increase the unity of your church? What can happen when just one is missing?
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God’s Amazing Character

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 9 & 10

Poetry: Psalm 72

New Testament: Galatians 5:22

We previously read the Seek.Grow.Love year’s readings with the objective of focusing on what we could discover and celebrate about God’s character. Today’s reading in Psalm 72 paints a beautiful picture of the kingdom and highlights wonderful attributes of God’s amazing character. We read in verses 4 and 12-14 about His heart for the afflicted, the crushed and the needy.

Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

4 

May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

12 

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

13 

He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

14 

He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

I am always blown away that we are blessed enough to have a Heavenly Father with such compassion and unconditional love for us. Let that sink in for a minute. This passage actually made me think of a few other passages. One was from the story of Ruth and Naomi and we read how they were able to glean the fields per the provision of God’s law. Those harvesting the land were not to clear the grounds of the crops that had fallen or clear all the way to the edges so that the needy could glean the field. 

We can read about this law in Leviticus 19:9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

Here are a couple of other passages that came to mind:

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Isaiah 1:17: learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

If reading these passages doesn’t give you pause, it really should. Take a moment to really think about God’s heart and what that means for you. Take time to deeply celebrate and appreciate who He is! May we seek to imitate His character by looking after the needy, the fatherless and the widow.

-Kristy Cisneros

ReFLection Questions

  1. Where have you seen evidence of God’s amazing character?
  2. How would you describe God’s heart?
  3. How can you pass on God’s compassion and helping hand to others?
  4. Can the fruits of the Spirit of love, kindness and goodness be seen in you?
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Recognized by Your Fruit

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 5 & 6

Poetry: Psalm 71

New Testament: Galatians 5:22

Matthew 7:15-20:

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (NIV)

“By their fruit, you will recognize them.” The fruit we bear in our lives is a litmus test for our spiritual health and the strength of our relationship with our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. We just read yesterday how apart from Christ we can do nothing. So our ability to bear good fruit depends on our willingness to abide in Christ. Take an inventory of your life. Do you see evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Taking this inventory of my life highlights areas where I need to repent of sin and abide more deeply in Christ. It is also important not to just take a cursory, shallow glance at that list of fruits, but to dig deeper and investigate more in depth what the scriptures have to say about the various fruits. For example, with the fruit of love, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Does my life show evidence of loving my enemies? Whew, I’m going to be real here, that is a tough one! To actually pray for someone who might be actively working against you or for your demise seems so counterintuitive to our human nature and our survival instinct. God, you want me to give my enemy a salt shaker so that they can rub it into my raw wound even more? Doesn’t that leave me vulnerable and unprotected? Do the scriptures support that God leaves us vulnerable and unprotected? In a couple of weeks you will be reading in Ephesians 6:10-17 about the spiritual suit of armor that God provides us. I won’t go too in depth with it since there are devotions coming that week, but that passage shows us that God protects us from head to toe. Also, remember we are talking about the fruit of the Spirit and John 15 reminds us that we are not alone in this battle.

John 15

26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, 27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. (NASB 1995)

The scriptures also have something to say about who fights our battles. Let’s take a close look at Romans 12:19-21: 

19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NIV)

Did you catch that part about putting that love of our enemies into action by feeding them if they are hungry, giving them something to drink if they are thirsty? That’s taking that command to love your enemies to the next level, isn’t it?!?!  Are you prepared to do that? Am I? It’s time for a heart check.

It really boils down to trusting God, doesn’t it? Do we believe Him when He says that He’s got it handled? If we find our faith lacking in this area, this is something we can pray about. It brings to mind the passage in Mark 9:

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” (NIV)

Later we read in verses 21-24:

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (NIV)

That verse always touches my heart because I can relate to it so well. I know what the scriptures tell us, but sometimes my trust and faith are lacking. Sometimes my prayers sound something like this, “Father, I know that Your word tells me that I am to love my enemies, but it’s so hard, God. It hurts so much. I need Your strength to show them the love Your word says I should show them. Father, I know that Your word says that You will work all things together for the good of those who love Him. Help me to love You more deeply and fully and to trust that promise so that my fear does not hold me back from being obedient to Your word to love my enemies. Help my lack of faith in this area. Help my unbelief.”

In today’s passage in Psalm 71 we read how God handled David’s enemies:

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

    all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

    have been put to shame and confusion. (NIV)

Our only job in regards to our enemies is to love them and to follow through with loving action that helps meet their needs. God’s got the rest of it.

-Kristy Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. If a stranger watched you for an hour yesterday, would they have seen good fruit or bad? Would they guess that you abide in Christ? Do you? How can you do so more and more?
  2. Who might you consider as your enemy? How do you typically treat them? What is Jesus asking you to do for them? Will you? When and how?
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Turn to Forgive

Old Testament: Ruth 2

Poetry: Psalms 62 (again-what do you notice, today?)

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 2

In 2 Corinthians 2 Paul teaches us how we should forgive as Christians. Paul expresses the idea that the people who grieved him should not be met with revenge, but instead with reconciliation.

“Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”

Unfortunately, some Christians today have a false definition of forgiveness. We have all heard the saying “I can forgive, but I can’t forget”. When you forgive someone, you don’t keep track of their wrongdoings. This is a way we show love as Christians. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 states:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”

Why is Paul so willing to practice forgiveness? It’s because he has been forgiven by God through Jesus. When we feel it’s “too hard” to forgive someone we have to remember how often we are forgiven ourselves.

Forgiveness needs to become part of our new nature. As image bearers of God, we need to become forgiving like God is. We need to recognize that forgiveness is part of God’s nature (Exodus 34:6-7), just as many people in the Bible recognized that God’s nature was forgiving (Numbers 14:17-19). If God is forgiveness we need to be forgiving. Forgiveness was the mission of Jesus Christ, let that be our mission as well.

-Brooke Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. When have you forgiven someone else? How did that make you feel?
  2. What is the problem with unforgiveness? What is the connection between unforgiveness and being “outwitted by Satan”? (see verse 11)
  3. Explain how God has forgiven. Have you accepted His forgiveness through accepting His Son? If so, how can you pass forgiveness on to others? If not, why not?
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Ultimate Good

Old Testament: Judges 14 & 15

Poetry: Psalm 58

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

            When we began this week on Sunday we read about Spiritual gifts in chapter 12. We saw that there is no “I” in “team” and that everyone in the church has gifts and needs to be using their gifts to help the church grow and carry out its mission.

            There is one key transitional sentence at the end of chapter 12 leading into chapter 13: “And I will show you a still more excellent way.”  The more excellent way is the way of love.  From Monday to Friday, we have looked at love, not as an abstract idea but as a concrete set of actions.  Love is made up of behaviors that are patterned after God.  When we love we show people who God is and what God does.

            Today, we look at how Paul closes out this “Love chapter” in verses 8-13:

            Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

            Here as Paul brings this section to completion he brings home the point.  It’s important to be gifted, to use your gifts and talents to serve in the Church and to serve God in the world, but as important as those gifts are, they are not the ultimate or final good, they are penultimate or next to last good.  To speak a prophetic word to exhort a congregation is important, to exercise the gift of speaking to the world in ways that are understood by people of different languages is valuable, and knowledge is a necessary good to a flourishing life and church, but all of these are penultimate good, not ultimate.  They will give way to the eternal, but love will outlast everything.  At the end of all things love for God is love.

            I’m getting older and I have some serious health challenges which remind me that I am a mortal person.  Unless Jesus Christ returns very soon I will one day join those who have gone to “sleep in the dust of the earth” (Daniel 12:2) awaiting the resurrection.  As I get closer to my personal end, I am more aware of that which is truly most important in life.  It’s not my accomplishments, it’s not how much money I’ve earned, at the end of the day what matters most is “Did I love?” Jesus summed up the entire teaching of God with 2 things: “Love God and Love others”.  Paul is adding more depth and clarity to what love looks like and what we all should aspire to be.  Every morning we should ask, “God, how can I love well today?” And at the end of the day ask “God, how well did I love today?”

Reflection Questions

  1.  When you hear the words “Love never ends” what comes to your mind?
  2. Why do you think Paul says that being loving is even more important than being gifted?
  3. When will you start to begin your days asking “God, how can I love well today?” And at the end of the day ask “God, how well did I love today?”

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

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Selfless Love

Old Testament: Judges 12 & 13

Poetry: Psalm 57

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:7

            Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Through this week of reading through 1 Corinthians 13 Paul is giving us concrete examples of what It means to love.  He’s building this message into a kind of crescendo.  Like a great symphony or chorale masterwork, the various themes of the story build on themselves.  Here he is moving toward the peak of this love song with 4 things that love does: love bears, love believes, love hopes and love endures.  That would be a lot.  But he adds “all things.”

            I could take time and give you a detailed exegesis of what each of these words means in the original Greek and how they are used in Corinthians and throughout Paul’s writings and the Bible as a way to arrive at their precise meanings, but I’m not going to do that.  Instead, I’m going to tell you a story.

            I grew up in a loving family.  My father was a pastor and also a school teacher.  My mom was a pastor’s wife and drove a school bus and took care of our family, keeping us fed every day precisely at 6 p.m., our clothes washed and our house neat.  I felt loved and supported along with my 2 older sisters Cheryl and Debbie.  I was the baby, younger than my two older siblings by 7 and 10 years.  My parents were in their early 40’s, our family was settled and my oldest sister had already left the nest and gotten married.  I was an active boy, a happy ‘tween who played baseball and basketball and hadn’t started noticing girls yet at eleven, but life was sweet.  We went to Church every Sunday and learned about God and his love for us.

            Then the world changed.  My Mom found out that she was going to have another baby.  Surprise!   Jeff, you’re not going to be the youngest child anymore, you get to be a big brother.  I couldn’t wait, after years of being the only boy, the little brother who had to listen to his older sisters who both loved me but could also be a bit bossy.  Sometimes it felt like I had a Dad and 3 Moms telling me what to do.  Now I would have a little brother to boss around and to show how to hit a baseball and shoot a free throw.  I even had a name picked out for my little brother, Scott.  I don’t know why I picked that name, but that was the name I picked for my little brother.

            As it turned out, “Scott” was born a little girl, whom my parents named Christine Noelle (she was born right after Christmas so she got a very Christmasy-sounding name). Before I got to meet my little sister (I got over the fact that she was not my little brother Scott) my parents shared that she was a special child.  She was born with some differences in her little body that made her look different from other babies that I had known and she would not be able to do all the things that other children did in the way that they did them.  The name for my sister’s condition was called Down’s Syndrome.  I didn’t fully understand what that meant, but I was glad when my parents got to bring her home and we all loved her very much.

            For the next 50 years my Father and Mother, and after my father died my mother alone, provided love and care for Christine.  She received cutting-edge health care.  She had multiple surgeries to repair things that normally didn’t function well in children with Down’s Syndrome that would help extend her life.  She started getting therapy and schooling and grew to be a happy and loving young woman.

            I found out many years later, as an adult, that when she was born her doctor advised my parents to have her institutionalized.  He said she would never live with a good quality of life and would be a burden to them.  It would be best for them, for the family, and everyone else to let her be put away.  I am so glad that my parents did not listen to the advice of their physician but to the love of God in their hearts.

            My mother, who is now 90 has spent the last 50 years loving my sister Christine.  Christine has spent the last 50 years loving my mom.  My mom has spent 50 years bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring many trials and challenges while caring for my sister.  She has been for me, a model of what Paul talks about when he describes what true love is all about.

            At 90, my Mom has come to recognize her limits, she will not be around forever to care for Christine, but even now she is acting in love to help prepare my sister to live a good and flourishing life after my Mom is no longer here. 

            I could tell many other stories about love that I have seen and experienced in my life.

            When we love in selfless ways we bear God’s image to the world.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Think of a person in your life who modeled a selfless love for others.  What does their life teach you about God’s love?
  2. Why does Paul connect bearing, believing, hoping and enduring all things with concrete examples of love?
  3. What is something you can do today to show selfless love for another?
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Cheering for the Bad Guy?

Old Testament: Judges 10 & 11

Poetry: Psalm 56

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:6

            Usually, when we watch a movie we are introduced to a hero or heroic group to root for.  We want the “good guy” to win and the “bad guy” to lose.  We need to see Batman defeat the Joker or 007 to defeat the agents of SPECTRE.

            Occasionally, though, the filmmaker sneaks one by us and we find ourselves rooting for the anti-hero.  The show Breaking Bad did an outstanding job of getting us to root for Walter White who morphed from being an ordinary hard-working science teacher husband and dad to Heisenberg, the drug kingpin of the southwest who poisoned people with his methamphetamine creation.

            I recently saw someone post on Reddit that he realized later in life that the movie Top Gun had us rooting for Maverick instead of Ice Man when clearly Ice Man was the far better pilot and person. “Iceman was the only pilot that: actually obeyed the rules, was a skilled flier, never killed anybody in the entire movie and correctly identified all of Maverick’s faults.”  Yet we were all rooting for Maverick.

            To that, I will simply add that I can’t imagine why anyone would ever root for the evil New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, or Alabama Crimson Tide. (I’ll stop before I make some more lifelong enemies).

            The spirit of this age is constantly working to pull people away from finding joy in truth.  The Bible contains an epic story about our hero, a loving God who creates a place where everything is good and populates it with people in his divine image to care for the earth, who are opposed by those he created.  But God loves this creation so much that he will stop at nothing to find ways to rescue and restore that which is lost and broken and corrupt. 

            We are currently living amidst the ongoing battle against that which is true and right.  People are daily undermining what is good and just and loving and claiming that that which is evil and corrupt is good, and that which is good and holy is evil.

            For Paul, true love does not root for the villain or the anti-hero.  True love does not rejoice that evil is victorious.  True love finds its joy in the truth that is consistent with God and God’s love.

            Jesus predicted that before the end of this age, there would be a decrease in love.  In Matthew 24:12 Jesus says: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”  When people reject what is true and right, when people reject the ways that God lays before us to keep a rightly ordered society, it will result in a loss of love.  Lovelessness is the natural outgrowth of lawlessness.

            Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6).  If you want to have true life, you have to follow the path of Jesus, the path of truth.   Paul says essentially,  you can’t find love if you reject God’s truth.  You can’t truly love God and love people if you don’t love God’s truth.

            Today, ask yourself, “Are there things in my life that I know are the opposite of God’s truth?”  If you answer “yes”, you must be willing to reorient your life to pursue God’s truth and rejoice in God’s truth to practice true love.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think increased lawlessness results in failure to love the truth?
  2. Why is society becoming more enamored with anti-heroes who are opposed to truth?
  3. How can you grow to love truth more in your life?
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“Karen”

Old Testament: Judges 8 & 9

Poetry: Psalm 55

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:5

            Happy hump day! We’re here in the middle of the work/school week.  Are you tired of hearing about love yet?  Like that TV advertising guy used to say: “But wait! There’s more.”

Sometimes, the best way to learn about what something is is to consider its opposite.

In verse 5 Paul gives three more examples of what love is NOT.:[Love] does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

            For the past almost 40 years, I have lived with the most beautiful, amazing, wonderful woman.  This woman has patiently served alongside me as a pastor’s wife in places far from her family and friends.  She even let me drag her halfway across the world to England to start a church with a toddler in tow and she was “great with child” as in, about to pop. She has been a great wife to me and a mom to our 11 children.

            I love her more than anything on the planet and her name is Karen.  Sadly, the name Karen has, in recent years come to be associated with a certain kind of middle-aged woman who is, shall we say a bit entitled, difficult to please, and hard to get along with.  The woman who “asks to speak to the manager” is referred to as a “Karen”.  I like to tell people “My wife is named Karen but she is not a Karen.”

            Why do “Karens” cause endless eye rolls?  Because they are very insistent on getting their way, they tend to be easily irritated by normal human flaws and frustrating situations,  and they carry resentment towards those who upset them, they are not quick to forgive and give people a second chance.

            If the Apostle Paul was writing to today’s Christians he could simply say “Don’t be a Karen” and would easily get his point across.  Instead, Paul might say be an Annabelle, which means “loving” or for a male be an Amadeus, which means “love of God.” (Although for many Annabelle was ruined by the horror movie franchise bearing that name.  For older people like me the name Amadeus was ruined by the movie about Mozart- a talented musician and horrible person).

            Instead of being a Karen who insists on having her way, be an Annabelle who, as Paul says in Philippians 2:3 learns to “value others above yourselves.”  Instead of being a Karen who is irritable or easily angered be an Amadeus who is “slow to speak and slow to anger.” (James 1:19). Instead of being a Karen who is resentful, be a person who practices forgiving “70 times 7” as Jesus taught. (Matthew 18:22).

            By now you might be wondering, does Paul want me to become like, a whole different person by doing all these practical, loving things?  Paul wants us to allow the one perfectly loving person, Jesus, to radically take over our lives.  To be so full of God’s spirit and love that “to live is Christ.”

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1.  Can you think of a time when you were around a “Karen”?  How did that make you feel?
  2. Can you think of a time when you acted like a “Karen”? How do you think it impacted others?
  3. What are concrete ways that you can show love by valuing others above yourself?
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True Love

Old Testament: Judges 6-7

Poetry: Psalm 54

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:4

            Hello, Happy Tuesday!

            Yesterday we saw that Paul is not interested in talking about love as an abstract concept. Abstract love is worthless.  True love is only proven to be of value by concrete actions. In today’s reading, 1 Corinthians 13:4 Paul starts giving concrete examples.

                  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.

            We could pick out any one of those examples and do a deep dive into what patience looks like versus impatience or what kindness looks like versus cruelty.  But I think we could place them under one major subheading.  If love is the main theme of this chapter, the subheading over these 6 things is humility.  Humble people will tend to be more patient.  Think about it.  If I think I’m better or more important than the other person, I’m going to demand that my needs take priority and so I’m going to be impatient with the server in a restaurant, or the cashier at checkout, or the secretary at the doctor’s office.  Impatient people tend to think that their time is more valuable than anyone else’s so their needs should be met now.  And of course, if they are impatiently placing demands on other people they are not likely to be expressing them with kindness.  Patience and kindness are concrete examples of love in the form of humility. 

            The other four examples Paul gives, envy, boasting, arrogance, and rudeness are all the antithesis of humility.  They are all driven by pride.  “Why should my coworker get the promotion, she doesn’t deserve it.  I’m a far better employee than she is and I have several examples I’d like to give you about why I’m much better than she is.”

            I read a story earlier this week about a famous basketball player.  The NBA gives out individual accolades to players and they announced the top three finalists for defensive player of the year.  The reporter asked this player how he felt about not being one of the finalists for that award.  He proceeded to rant about how “The NBA just doesn’t like me.  I deserve that award more than any of them, I’m the best defensive player in the league.”  When I read his response I felt disgusted about his arrogance put on such vulgar display with his rude and demeaning words about literally everyone in the league. But this is how things are in the world.  We’ve come to reward boastful, rude, and arrogant people.

            Narcissism is no longer considered a character flaw but makes one a popular candidate seeking high political office. Have you seen how rude certain candidates are as they call others rude names like children on a playground?  Humility is seen by many in the world’s eyes as weakness.  But not in God’s eyes. James 4:6 says “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

            Jesus taught the importance of humility so clearly when he said “Blessed are the meek (humble) for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

            He told a very vivid story comparing and contrasting a proud person and a humble person in Luke 18:9-14:  He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:   “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.   I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’   But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’   I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

            The world rewards the proud and arrogant boasters who brag about how great they are.  True love is evidenced by the humble who don’t think too much of themselves but rather show patience and kindness to others.  As the character Forrest Gump said: “I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.”

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Can you think of someone who you would describe as humble?  What behaviors make you think of them as humble?
  2. Why does our culture seem to reward arrogance in places like sports or politics?
  3. CS Lewis said that “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but of thinking of yourself less.”   How can thinking of yourself less help you to love others more?
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Concrete Love

Old Testament: Judges 4 & 5

Poetry: Psalm 53

New Testament: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

For the rest of this week, we are going to be looking each day at small sections of one chapter in the Bible- 1 Corinthians 13. When I was a kid I was taught that 1 Corinthians 15 is the Resurrection chapter, Hebrews 11 is the Hope chapter, and 1 Corinthians 13 is the Love chapter.  If you’ve ever been to a wedding ceremony there is a good chance that you’ve heard all or at least a portion of this read as part of the ceremony.  Today we will look at verses 1-3:

            If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

            This is such a timely reading for me to consider.  For the past 3 years, I’ve been working toward receiving my Doctorate of Ministry from Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville.  It’s been a lot of hard work.  For my project I read hundreds of articles and books, conducted interviews, presented ideas to colleagues, tested ideas on various groups, and wrote, edited, re-wrote, and re-edited until I had a project to present to my committee.  Then after my committee read it, we met and I had to defend my project thesis orally.  Finally, on April 9 I passed.  On May 10 I’ll graduate and receive my official title D.Min, Doctor of Ministry in Integrative Mental Health Chaplaincy.  The afternoon I passed my wife Karen said “Hello, Dr. Fletcher.”  I said, “That’s the only time you’re ever going to call me that, right?”  She said, “Absolutely, I hope you enjoyed it.” 

            So, I’ve been feeling relieved, accomplished, grateful, and good about having achieved this milestone in my academic and professional career. 

            But God had a lot more to teach me.  And Brother Paul put his finger on it.  In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul is saying a lifetime of accomplishments, being a gifted speaker, full of knowledge, or being spiritually gifted with miraculous powers, in the absence of concrete acts of love, is just a bunch of noise.  You can get all the degrees and accolades and knowledge, but if you don’t put love into practice, it’s a bunch of noise and worthless.

            It reminds me of a story I once heard: There was a child psychologist who was famous and had written many best-selling books on parenting and how to raise children.  Recently, he had spent many hours constructing a new driveway at his home. Just after he smoothed the surface of the freshly poured concrete, his neighbors’ small children chased a ball across the driveway, leaving deep footprints. The man yelled after them with a torrent of angry words. His shocked neighbor heard these words and said to him, “You’re a psychologist who’s supposed to love children.” The fuming man shouted, “I love children in the abstract, not in the concrete!”

            Paul is saying in I Corinthians 13:1-3 that love in the abstract is worthless.

            A few days later, God showed me what love in the concrete looks like. I shared the following story on my Facebook page recently.  It resonated with a lot of people because it’s been shared hundreds of times and I’ve heard more responses to it than anything else I’ve ever posted on social media.  It illustrates to me what Love in the Concrete looks like:

I met Jesus yesterday.  Face to face.

He’s a cashier at a grocery store in Front Royal, Virginia.

I was on my way home from work after a busy Monday visiting sick patients at the hospital, supporting families as their loved ones face the end of life, helping people struggling with addiction and staff cope with the challenges of being full-time caregivers. I’m a chaplain and a pastor, that’s what I do all day. It’s what I’ve trained to do, studied, practiced. 

But then, yesterday, out of the blue, with no warning I met Jesus working the register at a grocery store.

First, I saw him patiently help the customer ahead of me.  The one who only had 3 items in her cart, was very confused trying to figure out how much she could spend because she needed to have enough left over.  He was gentle and patient with her.  He couldn’t be more than his late teens, maybe early 20s, but he was attentive and caring.  No eye rolls or looks of frustration, just caring for this confused and frustrated woman. (I was the one who was frustrated at how long it was taking).

Then it was finally my turn to check out.  He was a thin young man, wearing a cross made of horseshoe nails and wire.  He smiled and asked gently, “May I pray for you?”

That was unexpected and caught me completely off guard.  I said, “Yes, please.”   I was so moved that this young man would take the time to notice me and ask if he could pray for me.  This was more than a transactional relationship for him.  He was there to do more than simply earn his paycheck and go home.  He saw me as more than an object, a thing to help pay his bills, he saw me as a person, a human being made in the image of God, who has a life outside of this 5-minute transaction and has needs that can be helped by God’s intervention.  I was deeply moved. 

But he wasn’t finished.

“What would you like me to pray for?”  What should I say?  How specific should I be?  Should I say, “I’m currently under treatment for 2 types of advanced cancer and trying my best to keep going?”  Should I tell him about my concerns about family members that I love, my desire to help my Church grow, and all the needs of the people I visit and staff I serve in the hospital? 

There wasn’t time to go into all of that, so I simply said “My health.”

He stopped and said, “So you are having health problems.  I’ll pray for that.”

By then the tears were starting to well up in me and I hurriedly helped him bag my groceries so I could get out of there before I started ugly crying in the grocery store check-out line.

But he wasn’t done yet.

“What’s your name?”   That about finished me off.  He wasn’t just making conversation or using spiritual cliches like “I’ll pray for you” as well-intentioned people often do, but sometimes forget to actually do.  I knew that he really meant it.  He was and is praying for me, Jeff, who has health needs.  And based on what I saw, he’s already pretty close to God.  So I have a feeling God will listen attentively to his prayers.

As I sat in my car afterward waiting for the tears to subside, I had the overwhelming sense that I had just spent time with Jesus.

I met Jesus yesterday.

He works as a cashier at a grocery store in Front Royal, Virginia.

Since I shared this on Facebook I’ve had dozens of people who live locally write to me or tell me in the hospital that this same young man has left others equally in tears when he prayed for them and they, too, equally felt touched by Jesus.

This young man probably doesn’t have a doctorate in spiritual care, but you don’t need one of those to show people concrete love in the name of Jesus.  Go and be Jesus wherever you are today.

Pastor Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Name a time when you were surprised by God’s love revealed to you in unexpected places.
  2. How would you describe the difference between abstract love and concrete love?
  3. The young man showed Jesus’ love while checking people out at the grocery store. Where can you show the love of Jesus today?
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