1 Corinthians 13:5 – Love does not seek its own.
THEME OF THE DAY: ARE YOU A CHURCH GETTER OR GIVER? There is a tombstone in the courtyard of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It reads, “Sacred to the memory of General Charles George Gordon, who at all times and everywhere gave his strength to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, his heart to God.” Another tombstone in a nearby cemetery reads, “Here lies a miser who lived for himself. And cared for nothing but gathering wealth. Now where he is or how he fares, nobody knows and nobody cares.” What a contrast and a contrast prompting some self-examination. I said to myself, “I wonder which one would describe me if I were to be buried today?” Which one would describe each of you?
Ask most Christians what chapter in the Bible is recognized as “the love chapter” and the answer would be unanimous. This chapter finds its way in a lot of weddings. It hangs in a picture frame in quite a few living rooms. It makes its way onto little magnets stuck on refrigerators. The chapter is 1 Corinthians 13. Here is a part of it that gets the most attention – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). This all sounds good and is very positive, but the context of this writing by the Apostle Paul is an indictment. He is not affirming the Corinthians for their practice of this love. He is correcting them because they lacked this type of love among themselves. This church wasn’t controlled by Christ’s love, but ugly self-love. And the temptation is the same for us.
When it comes to the spiritual quality of our lives and the spiritual influences for the Lord Jesus coming from our lives, it will be found not in self-absorbed self-love, but in self-denying Christ’s love. The contrasts are significant. To live a life controlled by self-love means we live to get. To live a life controlled by Christ’s love means we live to give. And what we are – a “getter” or giver will determine our spiritual happiness, heart contentment, and soul-satisfaction. Be a “getter” and ultimately spiritual dissatisfaction and spiritual discontent will describe us.
One place we see this clearly among Christians is when it comes to commitment to a local church. The “getter” Christian doesn’t get settled in a church. They never develop deep spiritual relationships as spiritual family members in the congregation. They don’t grow in 1 Corinthians 13 love where leaving a spiritual family would never be considered. They are spiritual consumers always looking for something new, exciting, or a church meeting their needs. Don’t we find it interesting that the Bible never tells us a church is to meet our needs? Christ, the Head of the Church, is the only source to meet our needs. When it comes to the “getter” and church, it is easy to leave when disagreements, hurts, or things don’t go the way they like arise. Why? The “getter” has never been in love with the people with a love that is “patient, not rude, does not insist on its own way, is not irritable, resentful, bears all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Not so with the giver when it comes to a local church. They are actively loving people by serving their needs; spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The giver is controlled by Christ’s love and always looks at the good, not the negative in a church and its people. The giver is quick to encourage, not discourage. The giver sees all brothers and sisters in the spiritual context of family. Yes, even the difficult ones. And the giver who is walking in Christ’s love strives to make his or her church a slice of heaven on earth by faithfulness and sacrificial service. They live for Christ and others, never seeking attention or recognition, and are ever so quick to forgive the inevitable times sin occurs within the spiritual family.
When it comes to the witness for the Lord Jesus in our communities, it primarily occurs through God’s choice instrument – the local church. We will go a long way showing the world the true and Biblical Jesus if we each strive to be “givers” in our churches instead of “getters” or consumers in our churches.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me for the too many times I think only of me, my, and mine interests, not Christ’s and others’.”
QUOTE: “Where the love of Christ controls the heart, sacrificial service for the good of others will always be present.”