Month: February 2020

Loving our spouse, whom we have chosen, is often pleasurable. But sometimes the difference between our desires and the other person’s leads to conflict.  What happens to our love when our feelings toward our spouse aren’t so good? When they don’t “make us happy”? We could just walk away, leave the lost thing unfound, the broken thing shattered, but that doesn’t sound like love. Love is a choice we make to act in our beloved’s best interests even when we don’t feel like it.

 

Close relationships provide countless opportunities for us to choose to respond like Christ, to do what Christ has done. To be kind to people who really don’t deserve it. To overlook fault. To put up with offense without being rude or growing bitter or keeping a list.  But this means that relationships involve risk; they have the potential to cause us a great deal of pain. You might be vulnerable and extend mercy and grace and kindness and compassion to someone and they might respond with ingratitude, anger, and isolation. You might be desperately needy and they’re still selfish.

 

Everything Paul says “love is” in 1 Corinthians 13 are things we need in response to weakness, shortcomings, and failures.  Maybe that’s why the King James’ Version translates the word love as charity.  Love is a gift to a person who is desperately needy, hopelessly undeserving, who lacks good and pleasant qualities.

 

God doesn’t guarantee that the other person will do the right thing.  But He does promise that radical love has radical benefits. Jesus said, “Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don’t be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked” (Luke 6:35).  Our pursuit of unity in spite of the sinfulness of others, in spite of our own sinfulness, marks us as recipients of grace and heirs of the Kingdom.

Maybe all you need to hear today is this – God isn’t the cause of what you’re struggling with.  Sin is, both directly and indirectly. There are wrongs that have been done to you, consequences for wrongs you have done, and the terrible reality of living in a sin-stained world.  But God is not your enemy and He’s not out to get you.

 

Instead His desire is to rescue you.  What He’s spoken over you is this – “If you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure” (Exodus 19:5).  He’s given you His unfailing promise, “I will never fail you. I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Never. Not ever. Not even once.

 

And if God isn’t the source of your trouble and hardship, then you can be certain that it can be overcome.  It might not be easy and it might not be quick, but God is looking for those who are willing to stick with Him. “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He cannot be defeated and nothing is too hard for Him.  I know of no greater source of hope.

 

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… Others died that you might live.  I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43:1-4