The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 13:2-8a,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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"If I … have not love, I am nothing… Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
Love is a beautiful thing. We are drawn to those who love. I suspect it is because love is such a central aspect of God's nature. John tells us that God is love, 1 John 4:16. When we love we emulate the very nature of God.
Since Paul tells us that our experiential life in Jesus Christ should be one of love and that lack of love makes most everything else of little value, how important is love in our lives!
But just how do I grow in love? Where do I go to get it? Is it something I can gin up myself? Can I go fetch it at a seminar, discover it at some new church somewhere, read a book about it? Do I start my day by telling myself, "Today, I will be patient, kind, humble, I will not be rude or self-seeking, etc… and therefore loving?"
I am told that love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not the fruit of our attempts to change ourselves (see Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit changes us from within and that change is manifested by love and other wonderful things.
What if I don't see a level of love in my life that should be there? I take that as a barometric reading that I need to come near to God: as I do so, he comes near to me, James 4:8.
God changes us within as we draw close to him. Many of us have seen this in our own lives - and sometimes much to our surprise! As we encourage one another to spend time with the Lord in his word, reading, meditating, memorizing, as we spend time with the Lord in prayer, as we spend time enjoying him, drawing close to him, sharing our lives with those who are his, he manifests those wonderful things in our lives: things like love, joy, peace, etc.
What an amazing God!
Love is a beautiful thing. We are drawn to those who love. I suspect it is because love is such a central aspect of God's nature. John tells us that God is love, 1 John 4:16. When we love we emulate the very nature of God.
Since Paul tells us that our experiential life in Jesus Christ should be one of love and that lack of love makes most everything else of little value, how important is love in our lives!
But just how do I grow in love? Where do I go to get it? Is it something I can gin up myself? Can I go fetch it at a seminar, discover it at some new church somewhere, read a book about it? Do I start my day by telling myself, "Today, I will be patient, kind, humble, I will not be rude or self-seeking, etc… and therefore loving?"
I am told that love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not the fruit of our attempts to change ourselves (see Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit changes us from within and that change is manifested by love and other wonderful things.
What if I don't see a level of love in my life that should be there? I take that as a barometric reading that I need to come near to God: as I do so, he comes near to me, James 4:8.
God changes us within as we draw close to him. Many of us have seen this in our own lives - and sometimes much to our surprise! As we encourage one another to spend time with the Lord in his word, reading, meditating, memorizing, as we spend time with the Lord in prayer, as we spend time enjoying him, drawing close to him, sharing our lives with those who are his, he manifests those wonderful things in our lives: things like love, joy, peace, etc.
What an amazing God!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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