Thursday February 18, 2010 LOVE - A COMMITMENT
Today's devotional title stings in many ways - love is truly a commitment - not just a feeling. In many relationships, abuse, neglect, and other factors overshadow that commitment and that's when divorce enters the picture. Yet, what exactly does God's Word have to say about love? If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear. 1 Corinthians 13:1-10 Can I tell you that I have known some clanging cymbals in my life? I believe that from time to time all of us are a clanging cymbal. We want the move of God, we do all the things to receive a move of God, we are even ready for a move of God, but we don't receive that move because we aren't walking in love. The footnote in my Bible for these verses makes an excellent point; "Many people define love as an emotion and stop there. But Paul defined love as a commitment to act in a certain way toward others. We may not be able to conjure up the emotions and feelings of love, but we can certainly practice the behaviors he listed in these verses. The apostle knew that when we behave in loving ways, feelings of love soon follow." One of the sayings in Alcoholic Anonymous is "fake it until you make it." Great point. This is even Biblical. Paul teaches us that we must put on Christ. We have to dress in our spiritual warfare garments. It is all about choices. We choose to love. As I reflect over the past twelve years, and I guess even further back, I hurt because people who claim to have the love walk down pat gave up on me, but praise God, He has given me a resolve that won't allow me to give up on Him and a new faith that I can't even give up on me. As Paul states, all of the gifts of the spirit will end when Jesus comes back for His church, but the one thing that will remain even throughout eternity with our Lord is love. Since God is love, we can expect love to rule when we reach Heaven. There will be no need for speaking in tongues because that gift is used for prayer, prophecy, and spiritual warfare, and there will be no need for those three things either. All the days of battling and strife will be ended. Father, we thank You for every spiritual gift that You offer to those who yield themselves to You and cast off the spirit of control. However Lord, help us to never put the gift before the Giver, and never let us even think that we can operate in those gifts without love. Lead us into a deeper abiding love for people Satan uses as our enemies. We need Your strength! In His Hope, Sharon O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] Twitter URL www.twitter.com/OAddisonGethers -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en.
