“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23
The virtue of kindness sounds simple until we try to live it out consistently. We admire it in others and we expect it from others, but practicing genuine kindness day after day, toward every person, especially when it costs us, reveals just how supernatural this fruit truly is. Kindness is not niceness alone, nor is it forced politeness or artificial sweetness. Biblical kindness is strength wrapped in compassion, truth delivered with grace, and love expressed in action. Kindness is the visible, tangible expression of God’s love flowing through us.
The Greek word for kindness here has connotations of goodness with tenderness, benevolence in action, grace in motion, a posture of compassion, generosity, and goodwill, and a spirit that looks for ways to bless and build up. Kindness is love in action. Kindness is expressed through gentle words, helpful actions, thoughtful responses, compassionate attitudes, encouragement, comfort, hospitality, generosity, and mercy, even when not deserved. Kindness is not just feeling sympathetic emotions, but rather doing something about it.
It is important to remember that everything God asks of us (and the Spirit produces in us), He first demonstrates toward us. Scripture repeatedly highlights God’s incredible kindness. His kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). He saves us through His kindness in Christ (Titus 3:4-5). He shows immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness (Ephesians 2:7). His kindness is unfailing and everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3).
That is the kindness we are called to reflect to others. We do not show kindness to earn God’s love, but because we have already received His limitless kindness. Kindness is worship modeled after our Father.
Jesus didn’t say the world would know us by our opinions, theology, or church attendance. He said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Real love must be expressed, and kindness is one of its clearest expressions. When Christians are unkind, our witness is wounded. But when Christians are consistently kind, hearts soften, doors open, and Christ becomes visible.
The world answers insult with insult, anger with anger, and hardness with hardness. But Jesus showed us a better way: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). Kindness has the power to interrupt cycles of bitterness and create new pathways of peace. It turns conflict into an opportunity for grace. Churches, families, workplaces, and friendships thrive not when everyone is perfect but when kindness makes room for imperfection. Kindness helps us bridge misunderstandings, and it encourages maturity in our relationships. Where kindness abounds, community flourishes.
Practicing kindness, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, changes our hearts. It humbles us and turns our ears to God’s voice. It aligns our hearts with His love. Kindness is not just something we do; it’s someone we become as the Spirit forms Christ in us.
But it is also important to know what kindness is not. Kindness is not niceness without truth; it does not avoid hard conversations but approaches them gently and lovingly. Kindness is not embracing harmful behavior or excusing sin; it offers grace and truth. Kindness is not just being a people pleaser, seeking affirmation, but seeking the good of others to glorify God. Kindness is not just random acts without a continuing relationship of blessing others.
No one embodied kindness more perfectly than Jesus. He touched lepers no one would touch. He welcomed children others dismissed. He defended the broken, the shamed, and the overlooked. He restored dignity to the outcast and hope to the sinner. He spoke truth that healed instead of crushed. He laid down His life for those who rejected Him. Jesus did not show kindness from a distance, but He entered pain, noticed needs, stopped for individuals, and gave Himself fully. Following Jesus is to follow His example of radical, compassionate kindness.
True, Biblical kindness cannot be manufactured by willpower, but it is a fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit grows kindness in us as we abide in Christ, allow God to transform our thoughts, pray for a compassionate heart, and slow down and take notice of those around us and how we can fill their needs in truth and love. Kindness grows through practice and faithfulness.
Unfortunately, several forces war against kindness in our hearts. Self-centeredness focuses on our needs, not others’. Busyness hinders kindness by not allowing time for it in our lives. Frustration and stress obstruct kindness because we are not at peace with God. Judgment of others causes us to withhold kindness when we think others don’t deserve it. To overcome these obstacles, we must draw daily from God’s kindness toward us. We love because He first loved us, and we show kindness because He first showed kindness to us.
Kindness may seem simple, but it is holy work. Every act of kindness is a seed of the Kingdom, and every kind act testifies to the power of the Spirit and the love of God in our lives. Pray and ask how you can make the love of Jesus tangible to those around you.
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“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
- Galatians 5:22-23
When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he was addressing a community caught in the tension between the law and grace, between what people could produce on their own and what God desired to produce within them. In that context, Paul gave one of the most beautiful and practical lists in all of Scripture: the fruit of the Spirit.
These nine characteristics are not individual fruits we pick and choose from, nor are they goals we achieve through sheer willpower. They are one singular fruit displayed in different ways, the natural result of the Holy Spirit’s presence and work in the life of a believer. A person walking closely with the Spirit naturally bears love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Love is not just the first in the list. It is the foundation upon which all the other fruits grow. Without love, joy becomes self-centered happiness. Without love, peace becomes mere comfort. Without love, patience becomes passive endurance. Love gives meaning, purpose, and strength to every other fruit of the Spirit.
The word “love” today can feel overused and underdefined. We say we love pizza, we love our pets, we love our favorite TV shows, and in the same breath, we might say we love our family or God. The English word love covers everything from affection to desire to admiration. But in the original Greek, the word Paul uses is agapē, a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. It is not a love that depends on feelings, circumstances, or reciprocity. It is the love that chooses to seek the good of others, even when it costs us something.
Agapē love is the love that characterizes God Himself, as in 1 John 4:7-8. God’s very nature is love. Everything He does flows from this reality: His creation, His redemption, His patience, His discipline, His mercy. When His Spirit lives in us, that same love begins to grow in our hearts and express itself in how we relate to others. Love is not something we manufacture; it’s something God cultivates in us through His Spirit.
But before we can love others, we have to understand that love begins with God’s love for us. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This is where many Christians struggle. We know in our heads that God loves us, but we often live as if we have to earn His approval. We try to be “good Christians” to stay in His favor, but that mindset leads to striving, exhaustion, and guilt.
The fruit of love grows only when we rest in the soil of grace, when we fully accept that God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is. God loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). His love is unfailing and steadfast (Psalm 136). Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). When we truly believe this, it transforms how we see ourselves and others. We no longer have to prove our worth or compete for love. Instead, we become free to love others as we have been loved, generously, graciously, and unconditionally.
That’s why the first fruit of the Spirit is love. Everything begins with receiving God’s love. Paul describes this kind of love more fully in 1 Corinthians 13, a passage often read at weddings but written for the church as a whole. Read more about that here. Love is not measured by what we say or how we feel, but by how we treat others, especially those who are hard to love. Loving others in this way is not natural. It goes against our instincts to protect ourselves, get even, or seek recognition. That’s why it’s called the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of human effort.
In John 13:35, Jesus told His followers that love would be their defining mark. Notice that He didn’t say people will know we are His followers by our theology, our worship style, or our moral stances. He said love would be the unmistakable evidence of our faith. In a world filled with division, hatred, and self-interest, genuine love stands out like light in the darkness.
The early church was known for this kind of radical love. They cared for the sick during plagues, shared food with the poor, welcomed strangers, and treated slaves and masters as equals in Christ. Their love turned the world upside down, and it still can today. Imagine what would happen if the church truly lived out the fruit of love in every community, workplace, and family.
So how do we cultivate this fruit in our lives? First, we should abide in God’s Word. Scripture reveals the character of God and reminds us of His love. The more we meditate on His truth, the more our hearts align with His. Next, we should ask the Holy Spirit daily to fill us with love – not the world’s definition, but God’s. The Spirit delights to answer that prayer. We should practice forgiveness and serve one another, especially those who cannot repay us.
Love cannot grow in isolation. We need the body of Christ – people who challenge us, comfort us, and help us learn how to love in real life. The fruit of love isn’t meant to stay theoretical or reserved for church. It’s meant to show up in the ordinary rhythms of life. Every act of love, no matter how small, becomes a testimony to God’s transforming grace. Love becomes a way of life, a movement of the Holy Spirit flowing through us into the world around us.
As we begin this journey through the fruit of the Spirit, remember that love is not simply the first virtue in a list, but it is the root from which all the others grow. Without love, the Christian life becomes empty duty. But with love, even the smallest actions become sacred. When we walk in love, we walk in the very nature of God.
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So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- Ruth 4:13-17
While these verses are not the final verses in the book of Ruth, they do provide a great conclusion for this narrative. They show how God has transformed what started out as a tragedy into a triumph.
At the beginning of the narrative, Naomi's life was marred by loss and bitterness. Having left Bethlehem due to famine, she returned years later a widow and childless, declaring, “Don’t call me Naomi… Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter” (Ruth 1:20). Her husband Elimelech and her two sons had died in Moab, leaving her without security, posterity, and hope. For an Israelite woman, particularly in that patriarchal society, the absence of a husband and sons was economically and socially devastating.
Yet by chapter 4, a miraculous reversal has occurred. Boaz, a guardian-redeemer, marries Ruth, Naomi’s Moabite daughter-in-law, ensuring not only Ruth's future but Naomi’s restoration as well. We see the women of Bethlehem affirm this in verses 14-15, praising God for not leaving Naomi without a guardian-redeemer and expressing how Ruth’s love has been more valuable than seven sons, which was a significant statement in a society that highly valued male offspring.
While it is clear from verse 13 that the child biologically belonged to Boaz and Ruth, Obed is spoken of as Naomi's son in verse 17: “Naomi has a son!” While this seems very strange to our modern Western culture, this makes sense when viewed through the lens of Israelite customs, particularly the practice of levirate marriage and inheritance laws.
While the marriage between Boaz and Ruth is not technically a levirate marriage (since Boaz is not Ruth's deceased husband’s brother), it functions in a similar spirit. In Deuteronomy 25:5-10, the Mosaic law prescribed that if a man died without children, his brother should marry the widow to produce offspring to carry on the deceased brother’s name. The primary goals were to preserve the deceased man’s lineage and ensure that family land inheritance remained within the clan.
In Ruth's case, Boaz acts as a guardian-redeemer, a male relative who steps in to protect the interests of the extended family, including redeeming land and marrying the widow. Boaz's actions restore Elimelech’s family line, and their son Obed is considered, legally and culturally, to be the heir of Mahlon (Ruth's late husband and Naomi’s son). By extension, this child rejuvenates Naomi’s family line and secures the ancestral estate.
Beyond lineage, the birth of Obed ensures Naomi's security socially. In an agrarian society where survival often hinged on family support networks, an elderly widow with no sons faced poverty and marginalization. The announcement that Naomi “has a son” symbolically anchors her back into the community with renewed protection and provision. The community’s recognition emphasizes that Naomi's status is now restored, not merely Ruth’s.
Ancient Israel viewed individuals through the lens of communal identity. One’s honor, name, and future were deeply intertwined with family and tribe. The association of Obed with Naomi is not a denial of Ruth’s maternity but rather an affirmation of the family's restoration within its communal and covenantal framework. Naomi’s losses are reversed, and her name continues through Obed, who became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of King David.
Though God’s direct actions may not have been explicit in Ruth, His providence permeates the narrative. The conception of Obed is described as divinely enabled (“the Lord enabled her to conceive” in verse 13), echoing similar Old Testament motifs where barren women like Sarah, Rebekah, and Hannah bear pivotal sons by God’s intervention. Naomi's story testifies to God’s quiet, redemptive work through ordinary human faithfulness, especially that of Ruth.
Ruth, a Moabite and a foreigner, is grafted into Israel’s covenant family, culminating not only in her son Obed but in her inclusion in the lineage of Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 1:5). This underscores a theological motif that God’s redemptive plan transcends ethnic and national boundaries. Ruth’s faithfulness and loyalty to Naomi find divine reward, illustrating that God's blessings can flow through unexpected people and relationships.
Our world today is often driven by individualism, but Ruth’s story champions steadfast love (hesed) and communal responsibility. Ruth’s selfless commitment to Naomi triggers a chain of redemptive events that restore not only Naomi’s life but also shape the future of Israel through David and, eventually, Jesus Christ. Boaz’s integrity and willingness to redeem reinforce the importance of acting honorably and compassionately within one's community.
Naomi, who once declared her life as bitter and empty, now holds her grandson, a tangible symbol of hope and legacy. The cultural practice of associating Obed with Naomi reflects ancient Israel's dedication to family preservation and social restoration. But more profoundly, it demonstrates that God, through human faithfulness and societal structures, weaves together His plans for redemption and blessing.
The God we worship today is the same God who was faithful to Naomi and Ruth. He calls us, too, to persevere through the times of bitterness and suffering to wait on the plans that He has for us, plans that will result in our redemption when we are obedient to Him.
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At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
- Ruth 1:14-18
This passage is one of the most moving passages in the Bible, demonstrating the themes of loyalty, love, and faithfulness. It highlights Ruth's remarkable decision to stay with Naomi, a choice that would change the course of her life and ultimately place her in the lineage of King David and Jesus Christ.
For a refresher on the context, remember that this book begins with tragedy. Naomi, an Israelite woman, moves to Moab with her husband and two sons due to famine. Over time, her husband and both sons die, leaving Naomi and her Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, as widows. Hearing that the famine in Israel has ended, Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem and urges Orpah and Ruth to remain in Moab and remarry. Orpah stays in Moab, but Ruth clings to Naomi and returns to Israel with her.
The Hebrew verb used in verse 14 for "clung" denotes deep attachment and loyalty. This same verb is used in Genesis 2:24 to describe the bond between husband and wife: "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Ruth's clinging is not just an emotional response but an intentional, covenant-like commitment to Naomi.
In verse 15, Naomi points out that Orpah has returned to her people and her gods, implying that staying in Moab meant remaining within its religious system. This highlights that Ruth's choice is not just about loyalty to Naomi but also a decision about faith.
Verses 16-17 are one of the most profound expressions of commitment in Scripture. Several key phrases deepen our understanding of Ruth's words:
1. "Where you go, I will go" – Ruth is making a complete transition into Naomi's life, regardless of the consequences and where that road may take her, both literally and figuratively.
2. "Your people will be my people, and your God my God" – This is a declaration of faith. Ruth is renouncing her Moabite identity and embracing Israel's God.
3. "Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried" – Burial was a crucial aspect of identity and belonging in ancient Israel. Ruth is committing not only to Naomi in life but also in death.
4. "May the Lord deal with me... if even death separates you and me." – Ruth invokes God's judgment upon herself if she breaks this vow, further proving the seriousness of her commitment.
In verse 18, Naomi realizes that Ruth is determined and not going to give up. The Hebrew verb for "determined" means to be strong, resolute, or courageous. This verb is often used in contexts of divine encouragement, as in Joshua 1:9, where God tells Joshua to be "strong and courageous." The use of this verb highlights Ruth's unwavering resolve and the spiritual strength behind her decision.
There are many theological and practical insights we can get from this passage. First is the concept of covenant love and loyalty. Ruth's declaration is more than just human affection; it reflects the hesed of God — His steadfast, covenantal love. Ruth embodies this divine loyalty by choosing Naomi over her own interests.
Next, we see that Ruth's choice to follow Naomi is also a choice to follow the one true God, demonstrating that faith is not merely an inheritance but a personal commitment. Ruth pledged to live her life following and honoring this God rather than the gods of her people, the Moabites. We don’t know how much Ruth knew about God at this point, but her desire to stay with Naomi meant that she would also take on Naomi’s spiritual practices and faith.
Finally, Ruth's love is selfless and sacrificial; she willingly enters uncertainty and hardship for Naomi's sake. This points to Christ's sacrificial love, making Ruth a foreshadowing of Jesus' redemptive mission. While our culture typically focuses on love as only being romantic love, there are multiple types of love. This self-sacrificial love does not necessarily occur in the same relationships as romantic love; you can have one without the other.
Ruth's choice to cling to Naomi and embrace the God of Israel serves as a model for believers today. Her story challenges us to reflect on our own faith and loyalty — to God and to those He places in our lives. Ruth's decision was not made lightly; it was a bold, life-altering act of devotion that literally changed history. May we strive to embody the same covenantal love, unwavering faith, and courageous commitment that Ruth displayed.
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Before we continue any further in the book of Ruth, it’s important to pause and look more in-depth at the Hebrew word hesed. This is a key theme and concept in the narrative of Ruth, and this word is one that it’s difficult to translate into English.
The Hebrew word hesed is one of the most profound and multi-dimensional terms in the biblical lexicon. Found throughout the Hebrew Bible, it is often translated as “loving-kindness,” “steadfast love,” “mercy,” or “faithfulness.” Hesed carries a richness that encapsulates covenantal loyalty, enduring compassion, and the transformative power of love.
Hesed is notoriously difficult to translate because it encompasses a range of meanings that vary depending on context. At its core, hesed refers to a loyal and loving action that arises within a covenantal relationship. Unlike fleeting emotions or conditional acts of kindness, hesed implies a committed and enduring love.
In biblical texts, hesed often reflects God's covenantal relationship with His people. For example, in Exodus 34:6-7, God proclaims Himself as “abounding in love [hesed] and faithfulness.” This self-revelation highlights God's unwavering faithfulness and deep compassion toward humanity, even in the face of human failure.
Rabbinic literature and modern scholarship underscore that hesed is not simply an internal sentiment but a tangible expression of love and loyalty. It is an action-oriented concept that finds its fulfillment in acts of care, justice, and fidelity. Thus, hesed is both relational and transformational, bridging divine love with human responsibility.
The concept of covenant is essential to understanding hesed. Covenants in the ancient Near East were binding agreements, often sealed with rituals, that defined relationships and obligations. In the Biblical context, covenants between God and His people—such as those with Noah, Abraham, and David—are marked by divine hesed.
In 2 Samuel 7:15-16, God promises David that His “love [hesed] will never be taken away” from him or his descendants, even when they falter. This steadfast commitment underscores that divine hesed is not contingent upon human perfection but flows from God's unchanging nature. Similarly, Psalm 136 repeatedly emphasizes God's enduring hesed, declaring in every verse, “His love [hesed] endures forever.”
God’s covenantal hesed invites human participation. In Micah 6:8, the prophet encapsulates the ethical response to God’s hesed: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Here, hesed becomes a model for human relationships, encouraging mutual care, fidelity, and mercy.
While hesed is often associated with divine action, it also describes interpersonal relationships. In the book of Ruth, hesed is a central theme that binds the story’s characters. Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, epitomizes human hesed. Despite Naomi’s bleak circumstances, Ruth commits herself to Naomi with the famous words: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).
Later in the narrative, Boaz extends hesed to Ruth by ensuring her protection and provision. His actions reflect the ethical dimension of hesed, demonstrating that loyalty and kindness are not passive but require intentional and sacrificial acts. In Ruth 2:20, Naomi acknowledges Boaz’s hēsed as a reflection of God's overarching care, blurring the lines between divine and human manifestations of this quality.
Hesed is intricately linked with justice in the Hebrew Bible. In Hosea 6:6, God declares, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” This verse critiques empty religious rituals devoid of ethical substance. It highlights that true devotion to God manifests in compassionate actions and a commitment to justice.
The prophets consistently call for a society rooted in hesed. Isaiah 58, for example, emphasizes the need for fasting that leads to social justice: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6). Here, acts of hesed are inseparable from the pursuit of a just and equitable community.
This interplay between hesed and justice challenges contemporary readers to consider how their faith translates into tangible actions. Hesed invites us to move beyond personal piety and engage in the work of healing, reconciliation, and systemic change.
The Hebrew word hesed encapsulates a divine and human ideal that transcends time and culture. Rooted in covenantal relationships, it is a love that acts, endures, and transforms. From the ancient Israelites to contemporary readers, hesed offers a vision of a world shaped by compassion, loyalty, and justice.
As we reflect on the meanings and implications of hesed, may we be inspired to embody its qualities in our lives. Whether through small acts of kindness or larger commitments to justice and mercy, hesed calls us to participate in the divine story of steadfast love. In doing so, we not only honor the legacy of this profound biblical concept but also contribute to the flourishing of our communities and the world.
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Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
- 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Today, we’re looking at the second half of what’s commonly known as the “love chapter” – 1 Corinthians 13. Take a look at last week’s post to read about the first half of this chapter. Paul has talked about how none of the gifts of the Spirit from 1 Corinthians 12 matter if the person does not have love. Then he went on to define that love, which can be summarized as matching up with the character of God.
The first phrase in verse 8 is that “love never fails.” While this statement can stand alone, it is also important to consider what it means in its surrounding context. Paul goes on to explain how prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will all go away; in contrast to those, love is permanent. But, you may be wondering, if prophecies, tongues, and knowledge are gifts from the Holy Spirit, who is part of the eternal and unchanging God, why would they cease?
The answer to that question lies in verses 9-10. Knowledge and prophecy are “in part” and incomplete while we are on this earth. Anything on this earth just does not compare to the perfect knowledge and understanding that we will receive when we spend eternity in heaven. When we reach that point of completion then anything that is incomplete will become fulfilled and complete. The root word of the Greek word translated as “completeness” is teleios, which I wrote an entire blog post about here because it’s difficult to translate into English.
Some people use this passage to support the cessation of certain supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, that they no longer continue today – specifically, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and inspired revelation. They say that because the canon of the Bible has been closed, that has caused these gifts to stop being poured out on people. Because we are no longer receiving special revelation of the inspired Scriptures from the Holy Spirit, we are also no longer receiving these gifts. However, there is no indication in the text that the word teleios here refers to the completion of the Bible specifically; it is left to the reader to determine what is being completed in this context.
The point Paul is making here is that while other things that are more of this world may pass away and stop, love never will because God is love and God will never pass away.
Paul acknowledges that this is difficult for our finite, earthly minds to comprehend these concepts in verse 11. Our present understanding of all of these things is compared to how a child thinks and reasons versus how an adult thinks and reasons. An adult can understand things much more clearly than a child can. In the same way, when we have perfect understanding in heaven, we will be able to understand all the things that we cannot understand now.
Once we grow up into men and women, we no longer think like children. We have to put those childish ways of thinking and processing behind us. When we get to the perfect and sinless world of heaven, we will have to put our imperfect ways of thinking in this world behind us. Everything will be made clear to us then!
In verse 12, Paul continues this comparison using the metaphor of a mirror. Seeing our reflection is a good representation of ourselves, but it is not the same as seeing face-to-face. A modern version of this may be comparing a Zoom meeting to having an in-person meeting. We can still have interaction and communication and we can still see each other’s faces, but there is something better about meeting with people face-to-face. We experience being in the same room and seeing the whole person, rather than just their face in a small box on a screen.
But even when we get to heaven and have that full understanding, we will not have the same mind as God. We will have a clearer understanding and much greater knowledge, but we are still God’s creation. God fully knows us, but we can never fully know Him. The creation can never fully know its creator, as the creator is always greater and more knowledgeable than the creation.
Verse 13 closes out this section with a summary thought: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Faith, hope, and love will remain forever. Paul has already established that love never fails and will exist forever, as God will exist forever, but now he adds faith and hope to that list. Our faith and hope in God will be ongoing and eternal as we continue on into that next eternal life of perfection. However, our faith and hope will be different then, just as our love will be. Our love will be mature, complete, and perfect, and our hope and faith will be fully realized. Our hope and faith will no longer look toward the future but they will be realized in the present.
The main point to take away from this entire chapter is that God is love, and we are called to love as God does, to the best of our abilities. If we need some guidance on what that love looks like, Paul gives a list of its characteristics. However, we must also realize that we cannot understand fully what that perfect love looks like, at least not this side of heaven.
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If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
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. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
This chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most commonly quoted passages of the Bible, especially in the context of weddings. But it is very important to look at the context of this passage; it comes right after the section on spiritual gifts and unity yet diversity in the body of Christ. In addition, the verse immediately before this says, “Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). What is the most excellent way to desire and then use the greater gifts from the spirit? In a word: love.
We’ll look at the first half of this chapter today, and next week we’ll look at the rest. In verses 1-3, we see that the gifts mean nothing if we do not have love.
In verse 1, Paul talks about speaking “in the tongues of men or of angels.” While we have records in Scripture of angels speaking to people using human language (such as Luke 1:13-20 and 26-38), it is believed that there is also a separate language that the angels use that humans cannot understand – what many refer to as speaking in tongues. Paul brings this gift of the Spirit up first because it is believed that the Corinthians were placing too much emphasis on the gift of tongues. Paul also refers to a resounding gong and a clanging cymbal in this verse; these items were used in the worship of God and at the temple (see 2 Samuel 6:5 and Psalm 150:5).
Paul then mentions the gift of prophecy in verse 2. Being able to prophecy, understanding mysteries, and having knowledge are all pointless without love. These mysteries and knowledge are not just worldly but refer to what God is revealing about Himself to us as His people. Even if we have faith that can move mountains (referencing the words of Jesus in Matthew 21:21), it is pointless without love. This faith does not refer to the saving faith we have in Jesus Christ but rather having faith in the ability to perform miracles like moving mountains.
In verse 3, Paul talks about giving all that he has to the poor and experiencing physical hardships. These things can be done without love, but then they, too, are pointless. He would not do these things so that he can boast, but rather out of true Christian love.
In verses 4-7, we see the descriptions of love that are so commonly referenced. Love is described with positive characteristics and negative characteristics. Positively, it is patient, it is kind, it delights in the truth, and it has an attitude that is protective, trusting, hopeful, and persevering. Negatively, we see that love does not envy, boast, be proud, dishonor others, seek self, be easily angered, or keep a record of wrongs.
We know from 1 John 4:7-12 that God is love, so God must embody all of these characteristics of love. We see support for each of these elsewhere in Scripture.
- God is patient for us to come to repentance and faith in 2 Peter 3:9.
- We see God’s kindness in Romans 2:4, which again has a goal of leading us to repentance.
- In Hebrews 11:3, we see that God formed the entire universe out of nothing at His command. This is who God is, and He doesn’t need to boast about it or be prideful. God does not need to envy since there is no one who even comes close to comparing to Him.
- God does not dishonor others because He is holy and perfect, as we see in 1 Peter 1:15-16.
- God shows with His actions that He is not self-seeking; giving His Son to come to earth and die on the cross for the entire world (John 3:16) is the opposite of self-seeking.
- While God does get angry with righteous anger when needed, He is very slow to anger, as we see in Joel 2:13.
- God does not keep a record of our wrongs. We see in Isaiah 43:25 that He remembers our sins no more. Our sins are wiped away because of the sacrifice of Jesus.
- John writes that he has joy when his children walk in the truth (3 John 1:4), which applies to God as well. God delights in truth because He is the truth (John 14:6).
- Psalm 92:15 tells us that there is no wickedness or evil in God, so He cannot delight in evil.
- God always protects us and delivers us, as we see in Psalm 91:14.
- Psalm 71:5 shows us that God is always our hope.
- God’s unfailing love is always with us, so He never fails, as we see in Psalm 33:22.
Not only are these characteristics of God, but we should strive to imitate them as we strive to imitate God. But that is definitely easier said than done! How can we possibly live out this love? The only way is through knowing Jesus Christ. We cannot know what true, Godly love is unless we have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
None of us can live out all these things (or perhaps even one of these things) perfectly, but Christ still loves us in this way so we can attempt to love others like this. Jesus' work of love was one that restores love and restores relationships when our sin breaks them – with God, with each other, and with ourselves. Christ is restoring all of those through the perfect love that we see here.
We are called to lean on the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives to have this kind of love in our lives. It is only through the gifts of the Spirit and His presence in us through faith in Jesus Christ that we can even hope to attempt to live out this perfect type of love.
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by Jaya DeZurik
The most basic teaching of Christianity is that God is love. From the creation of Adam and Eve in Genesis to the promise of Christ’s return in Revelation, God’s love is revealed throughout all Scripture. There are three facets of God’s love demonstrated in the Bible that I will point out.
1. God’s love in consistent. His love doesn’t waver or change from day to day. God’s love stays the same regardless of man’s inconsistency. God’s love for us does not fluctuate; it remains constant and consistent with His character. Even in the days of Noah, God’s love for mankind did not diminish. In fact, God grieved that He had made people because their actions became so deplorable. Their violence grieved Him because of His love for them. In His great love for mankind, He saved the one righteous man, Noah, and his family, thereby saving future generations that include us. Psalm 36:5-7 says, “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love!”
2. God’s love is persistent. God’s love continues forever despite our opposition and outright defiance toward Him. God will not quit loving anyone. We see God’s patient endurance with people throughout Scripture. As the Israelites repeat the pattern of reaping the consequences of their sin, repenting, and turning to God, He was always faithful to forgive them out of His great love for them. God knows the mind and patterns of men, yet His love continues for us forever. Psalm 106:1 says, “Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
3. God’s love is insistent. God is resolute in His love for us. He WILL love us because He IS love. God’s love for us will not back off or back down no matter what. In His infinite wisdom, God knows how fickle our feelings are and how erratic we are in our behavior. He will love us in spite of our changing attitudes toward Him. God loves us when all we see is the goodness of God and when all we see is the ugliness of life. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When we go through difficult times in life, it seems or feels as though God has rejected, abandoned, or forgotten us. It is important to remember that God always loves us and is always motivated by love toward us because God IS love. Even when it appears that our circumstances are determined by anything but love, God is still true to His character of love. Our perception of love comes through lives tainted by sin and wounds and influenced by our physical perceptions. I encourage you to remember and believe that God loves you, even if your feelings and life situations tell you otherwise.
God’s love for you is consistent; it is steady and unwavering.
God’s love for you is persistent; it perseveres and never quits.
God’s love for you is insistent; it is unrelenting.
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“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'
So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?'” -Hebrews 13:1-6
This final chapter of the book of Hebrews contains more advice on how to live righteous living, continuing that theme from the last section of chapter 12. The theme of these first few verses is love and how we should live out the love of Christ for one another.
Verse 1 starts out with a clear command: “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” If you don’t have a great relationship with your siblings, perhaps that command sounds easy to follow – if you don’t feel like you love your brothers and sisters, then maybe this Christian love thing is not that hard! But “brothers and sisters” in this verse refers to our brothers and sisters in Christ – all of our fellow believers. We are not linked by close blood relations, but we are all linked thorugh the blood of Christ that was shed for us.
In Greek, however, verse 1 is just 3 words. The idea of it is simply to remain in brotherly love for one another. In English, we just have the word “love,” but in Greek there are actually 8 words that refer to different forms of love (though just a few of them are used in the Scriptures). We most often see agape love, which refers to the unconditional, sacrificial love of God. This occurrence, however is the phileo love, which is the friendship love. The actual Greek word used is philadelphia which does literally mean “brotherly love.” We should strive toward having that brotherly, friendship love with all believers, because we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
How do we show this brotherly love to one another? One way is to show hospitality to others, as in verse 2. The reference to unknowingly showing hospitality to angels looks back at the narratives of Abraham and Lot in Genesis 18 and 19. God is pleased when we show hospitality to others, which can take on many forms. It could mean providing lodging for a fellow believer in your home, providing a meal for someone, or serving someone in any way.
In the context of the time period of the letter to the Hebrews, hospitality was one thing that truly helped spread the gospel throughout the known world. As the early Christian preachers traveled from place to place, they were able to do so because of fellow believers providing them with lodging and meals. Many of the inns of the day were expensive, and they did not have great reputations as being reputable places, so believers showing hospitality to others facilitated the mission of Jesus Christ to spread the gospel.
In verse 3, the author turns his attention to showing love specifically to those in prison. A person would need to actively seek out those who were imprisoned in order to help them; obviously, prisoners won’t just come knocking on our door asking for a place to stay or for a meal. In that time period, prisoners often did not receive much (if any) food, so they would depend on the love of others for their basic necessities. It was dangerous to help prisoners, as anyone seen sympathizing with prisoners could be imprisoned themselves, but the author encourages them to help prisoners anyway.
This verse goes along with the teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:26 where he wrote about all believers being the body of Christ: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” We are encouraged to care for those who are suffering in prison and those who are suffering in other ways or other places. We share in their suffering as the body of Christ.
The author turns to upholding marriage and discouraging sexual sin in verse 4. Marriage should be kept pure, not only for the sake of the marriage but because committing any sort of sexual sin will be judged harshly by God. The author specifically calls out adultery but also the general “sexual immorality.” For more on what the Bible says about these topics, check out this post and this post.
Verse 5 addresses sins of greed and coveteousness. Anyone who covets after something pursues that thing selfishly, regardless of what it does to other people. When we love money and all the possessions and security it can provide for us, we are trusting money and the things of this world more than we are trusting God. When we are content with what God has given us, we will not love money and desire after other things. For more on what the Bible says about money, check out this post.
The quotation in this verse is interesting, as it is not an exact quotation from any verse in the Old Testament. It is similar to Deuteronomy 31:6 where it says that God “will never leave you nor forsaken you.” Or it could refer to Joshua 1:5 where God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” It is suspected that the author is quoting from a manuscript that has since been lost. But even if we don’t have those exact words recorded elsewhere in Scripture, the idea rings true. We can fully trust in God that He will never leave us nor forsake us, therefore we do not need to trust in the material things of this world.
Finally, in verse 6, we see the author quoting Psalm 118:6-7. This emphasizes that we can confidently count on the Lord for all things. There is no reason to fear, because we have God on our side! Nothing that goes against God’s plan for our lives will succeed.
While these verses read almost like proverbs in that each verse seems to contain a different encouragement for how to live this Christian life, they really are all tied together in love. When we love one another, we will show them hospitality. When we love prisoners, we will care for them and remember them. When we love our spouse, we will honor our marriage. When we love other people, we will not commit any sexually immoral acts with them. When we love God, we will not love money nor the things that it can buy. We need not be afraid of anything in this world, because God loves us and He will protect us.
Live out the love of Christ today by loving others just as God has loved us!
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“Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” -Hebrews 6:9-12
In the previous section of this letter, the author gave warnings to his audience against falling away from the Christian faith. Fortunately, here he believes that this will not be the case for them, although being warned is still appropriate.
Addressing his audience as loved ones (“dear friends” in the NIV quoted above) in verse 9 shows that the author does at least have some idea of the people he is writing to. This is a prime example of speaking the truth in love – he dealt them some hard truth but did it all out of love and concern for them. He is convinced that they are better than those he warned them about. The warnings of falling away from the faith probably don’t apply to these believers; but they should still be warned, just in case.
The author states that his readers do know “the things that have to do with salvation.” This is both a warning to make sure that is true for them, and it’s a commendation that they have matured in their faith enough to know the basic truth of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Why is the author so confident that his readers won’t fall away from the faith? He sees the evidence of their faith as stated in verse 10. God’s character is that He is perfectly just; He will deal fairly with all people. If these believers have truly matured in their faith as the author suspects, God will treat them accordingly and not forget what they have done.
This is not to say that they will be saved by their works, but that their works are evidence of their faith (as in James 2:14-26). These believers have shown their love for God by how they have helped and continue to help God’s people. These believers have served others in the past and they keep serving others out of their love for God. They’re demonstrating that loving others shows a true love for God. This is the same idea we see in 1 John 4:19-21:
“We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
In verse 11, the author continues to show his concern for this group of believers. He expresses his strong desire that the people continue to live in this way for their entire lives – “show this same diligence to the very end.” In the same vein as previously when he stated that a person must continually grow and mature in their faith, they must also continue to do the works that are the outward evidence of that faith; anything else would be the same idea as backsliding in their faith. Now, that does not mean that if you begin doing one particular work of service to a fellow believer, you have to continue that forever. But it does mean that our level of commitment to serving our fellow believers out of love for God should continue to increase as we mature in our faith, even if the specific details and methods of that change over time as God calls us to different things.
The hope of all believers is that we will one day live forever with God in heaven. When we have faith, this is not an uncertain hope but a certain one. It’s not something that may or may not happen, but we have complete assurance that our hope will be fulfilled in this way. This hope is the entire point of the Christian faith - that one day our lives will be completely consumed with giving God the glory that He is due.
The author gives one more warning in verse 12 that they do not become lazy. This goes along with the idea in verses 10-11 that they should continue to be diligent in serving those around them out of love for God. Becoming lazy would be the opposite of this. Instead, they should imitate others who are living a life for God and who will receive that perfect inheritance of eternal life. The verb used here for “inherit” has the idea of having a certain possession of something; again, this is not an uncertain thing but a certain one.
Note the triune ideas of faith, hope, and love in this passage. We see faith in verse 12, hope in verse 11, and love in verse 10. This is reminiscent of the end of the “love passage” in 1 Corinthians 13. Verse 13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” That is what our Christian life is all about – because of God’s love for us and our love for Him, we have a certain hope for our future because of our faith.
What examples of faith, hope, and love do you have in your life? Look to those around you and see who is living out the ideas of this passage – serving others out of love for God and maturing in their faith – and imitate those actions you see in their lives, just as the author of Hebrews is encouraging his readers to do.
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by Eric Hansen
Control, power and surrender. When we play sports, we all want to be the champions. At work, we strive for that promotion or raise. We want to be liked by our peers. But what value do these add to our lives, when obtained by our own will? Once that gold is won, we have to keep fighting to keep it. Getting that promotion only drives us deeper into greed and lust. Pleasing our peers only keeps them around for so long.
It’s also easy to fall into a fallacy that if we want something done right, we gotta do it ourselves. On what premise does something truly happen by our own means? Circumstances are an interesting element of this world, where we like to think that something happened because it was in the right place at the right time. Consider how “the right place at the right time” is determined, though. We do not know prior to the event happening that it will in fact happen; we can only assume or infer. Both good and bad situations have consequences and benefits, but we can only map that out so far, if at all really.
The truth is that God loves us, and He is in control of what happens in our lives. This doesn’t mean we don’t have any say in what happens. But it does mean that regardless of whether we wear a red or blue shirt, for example, us reaching our destination or not is in God’s will, not ours.
Personally, I struggled many times this past year with spending moments with the Lord. I kept feeling like I had to control aspects of my life that I had no way of even trying to. A prime example of this is COVID. Back in June, when it really started hitting hard in the northwest Ohio area where I live, I was afraid of doing much of anything. Fear had an extremely tight hold on me, and the only control I felt I had was whether I could get out of bed or not. During this time, my wife had to go to Michigan for family business, and my pastor at the time asked if we could meet up for lunch. Initially I said yes, but later on that day I called him back and declined due to fear.
But not even 30 minutes after that, I felt like I just needed to go for a walk. Part of me was afraid, but another part was telling me to do it and to trust. If I stepped outside I had no control over what would happen. But, I stepped outside and went for a walk. A few times I stopped and just looked around, understanding there was nothing I could do or say that would fix any of this and that I had to surrender my trust to God if I wanted to be set free from these chains. Almost instantly, I felt like I could breathe, smile, and laugh again. Trusting in God’s sovereign love really did set me free.
There are 3 areas of the Old Testament I love to look at when I need a reminder of God’s sovereignty. Deuteronomy 7 gives insight on this when it comes to being His people (believers) or not. Specifically, verses 7-11 summarize the idea pretty well. Another area is the whole book of Job, where we see God’s control is through all suffering and blessing. Even Satan himself seeks permission, knowing how much in control God is in with everything. Lastly there’s the book of Ecclesiastes, where we see a constant theme of “X is meaningless.” X being things from wisdom, toil, pleasure, folly, et The author of the book highlights elements where regardless of what they did, God’s love and sovereignty was what happened. (Check out Katie Erickson’s blog post series on Ecclesiastes, starting here, for more on that book.)
As Christians, we do often speak of God’s love for us, but the true belief of what that love is exactly is quickly revealed when things out of our control happen. Young and old, weak and strong alike in both body and spirit can have the same experiences surrounding this. There are moments in our lives where we realize that whether we fret about things or not, it really doesn’t matter, and worrying about them won’t change the situation. We stare in awareness but also frustration as we watch a loved one die in front of us. In these moments, we can curse out to God in frustration, selfishness, or pity. Yet, not even a day prior we can go around to all of our neighbors and friends praising God and telling everyone just how great He is.
We should never forget how grateful we should be for His love, but also that His love is perfect, unlike ours. There’s no way we could equally love a homeless stranger and our husband or wife the same. We aren’t engineered to truly hold both to the same value. God is, though. That love does come at a price, and that’s control. To truly witness and experience His perfect love in our lives, we need to surrender control. Let go of what we can and cannot control and trust in Him to resolve it all.
Surround yourself with like-minded Christians and seek guidance whenever it’s needed. For me, this meant finding a Christian therapist. As this has been a constant theme between our times together, she once provided me with this saying on a bookmark I like to keep around for when I forget God’s love is in control: “By surrendering ourselves to quiet communion with God, by resting for a while from all our thinking and acting and serving, by leaving all things for once in our Heavenly Father’s hands, secret wounds are healed, gathering unbelief is dispelled, and displaced armor refixed.”
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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
If any emotion can be considered the cornerstone of the Christian faith, it would be love. Love is why God created us. A lack of love is why humankind fell into sin and separated ourselves from God. Love is why God had a plan to redeem and reconcile us back into a relationship with Him. Love is why we will be able to spend eternity with God forever. As we near the end of this Advent season and approach Christmas Day, love should be on our hearts and minds.
This time of year, we often think of the people we love, our family and our friends. We buy them gifts to show our love for them, and we make plans to celebrate with them. Perhaps we have loved ones that we only get to see at Christmastime. Or perhaps this year, we won’t be seeing as many friends and family as we usually would due to the ongoing Covid situation. Either way, love is a key concept this time of year.
While we do love our friends and family, the two Scripture verses I quoted above show us the truest and purest form of love: the sacrificial love that God has for us, His children.
In the Greek language, there are multiple words for love; up to 6 of them, depending on who you ask. The only two of these words for love used in the New Testament are philia and agape. Philia is the type of love between friends, but it’s more like that of a deep friendship, not just the “Facebook friends” kind of love. Agape is a love so deep it compels a person to sacrifice themselves for those whom they love.
Interestingly, schoalrs believe that before the New Testament was written, agape love was no different than philia love, or even eros (physical attraction) love. The deep meaning of this word agape doesn’t come from the Greek language itself but from the understanding of God’s love that we get from the Bible. This love always starts with God, not with us; God is love and He is the source of all love (1 John 4:7-10). God loves us, and because of that love, He sent Jesus into this world to save us, when we truly didn’t deserve it. This love is shown to us in the love between God the Father and Jesus the Son, and in the love that God shows to us.
Because of God’s great love for us, our response is to love God and love others. In John 13:34, Jesus commands His disciples and us: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” 1 John 4:11 says, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” When we realize how fully and unconditionally God has loved us, our natural response is to return that love to God and to show that same love to one another, especially those who also love God. But we are also called to show this love to those we consider our enemies. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus tells us, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
All of these references to love are the agape kind of love. This active love is defined by who God is and how much He loves us, and it should be reflected in our love for God and our fellow people.
When Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem as we celebrate at Christmas, love came to earth in human form. If there is ever someone who personified love, that is definitely Jesus. His whole life was lived out of love for all of humankind. The fact that He even needed to come to earth was because humanity messed up and separated ourselves from God, and Jesus needed to come to earth to live out love so that we may experience God’s eternal and perfect love with Him forever when we reach eternal life.
What are you doing as Christmas rapidly approaches to show this agape love to one another? What are you doing to not only show this love to those people you like and are close to you but also to those people you may not know, or that you may not even like at all? Jesus didn’t pick and choose; He came to earth to live a life of love for all of humankind.
In order to live out this love, I encourage you to review the other aspects of Advent that we have already discussed: hope, peace, and joy. The basis for all of these is love. We have a certain hope because of the love that God has for us. We will have eternal peace in Christ because of the love that He has for us. We can have joy because of the love that God shows us. God is love, and everything He does is all about love. Imitate God in making your life about truly loving others well this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!
For more on what the Bible says about love, check out this post.
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In 2015, my family and I were blessed by God and finally to be able to move to the country. In 2016, we were able to get a little puppy, who we named Caspian. We were super excited to finally have a dog of our own!
About one year later, another dog started coming around our place and began to coax our dog away from our home almost on a nightly basis. This dog was living at the local quarry and was obviously a stray that someone had probably dropped off in our neighborhood. We tried for a long time to convince the dog we were trustworthy by giving it food now and then but this dog has serious trust issues. Any time we would get near it, it would either cower and run away or just run away. Because we didn’t know anything about this dog, we just called it the Stray Dog. It became obvious after a while that this dog was a female and after searching for quite a while no one could find her puppies anywhere.
For 18 months we tried to convince this dog that we were friendly, and we were not going to hurt her. Finally, one day my wife was able to actually get near enough to pet this dog for a very short time. She still ran off. Even though she now knew we weren’t going to hurt her, she still wasn’t sure.
Then, it happened. After all that time running away and us trying to convince her we were not going to hurt her, after a long time and much patience, she started not just trusting my wife but she also started trusting our daughters enough to not only pet her but to feed her on a daily basis. My wife named her Saidee because Stray Dog just wasn’t a very good name. It was really quite an incredible transformation to witness. Saidee not only would hang out with Caspian, but now she would allow my wife and daughters to pet her more and more. She was still very leery of men and especially of me. If I didn’t have anything in my hands I could get closer to her, but it was very obvious she had been beaten as a puppy. It was very sad to know this. When trying to approach her, I would try to talk very softly and not make quick actions and have nothing in my hands. Time and time again, I would only get so far before she couldn’t handle it anymore and she would just get up and start walking away from me.
It was very time consuming and I had to be very patient in trying to win her over. After a while, though, she actually let me approach her and even pet her for short spurts. A lot of times she just couldn’t handle it anymore and would walk away while I was petting her. Now, I can pet her for a very long time, and she trusts even me, though she still can get a bit skittish or cower if I approach her with something in my hands. The thing is though, she really is an amazing dog. She helps keep the rodent population down around our house, that is for certain. I can’t believe someone would basically just throw her away.
One thing I enjoy about this dog is that our relationship makes me think of how God never gives up on anyone. Having Saidee around has made me even more thankful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I think about what He has done for each one of us and how He made the way back to the Father, even though we may not realize how wonderful the Father really is. Like Saidee with my family, if each one of us would just give in to our Heavenly Father’s plan for our lives it could be oh so good. No matter where you have been or what you have done, God wants to be with you. He wants to love you and give you good gifts. His plan is so much better than you can ever imagine. Turn to Him today.
For some encouragement, go read Hosea 14:1-9.
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I am going to take a quick break from my “The Foundation Matters” series to just touch on something that has become quite a problem throughout our society. It seems many of us have learned how not to be “present” right where we are at for the moment. I encourage you to please be open minded and be open with your spirit and prayerfully consider the information in this post. Oh sure, our physical bodies are where they are at for the moment, but our minds and even perhaps our spirits are seemingly somewhere else.
Let me give you an example of what I am referring to. I have been blessed to coach high school sports as an assistant and a head coach for many years. Things have seriously changed from the past. Change isn’t always a bad thing, but in my opinion, this is one that needs a serious remedy. It is just surprising to me how much a person’s phone or technological device can rule their life in so many ways. For instance, after a game is played on the field or court, after the traditional handshakes are made with the opposing team, I am amazed at how many new players almost immediately start looking for their phones. This is even before the coach gives their final words of encouragement or their talk after a game on the sidelines or the locker room.
Sometimes while a game is going on, other coaches and I wonder why a certain player of ours is playing so terrible or seems distracted on the field. Many times, after the handshakes this player is immediately on their phone, going somewhere else, or worried about what is about to happen in the future. (It seems many of our youth today are worried and anxious. We need to teach them that this is not godly. Read more about this in Philippians 4:6-7.) When this happens, it is very obvious to most of us coaches that the player likely had a bad game because they were possibly consumed in their own mind with something else even though they were on the field playing the game. Unfortunately, this seems to be a very serious and real problem in our society today. This is not just with sports but with marriages, families, friends, and even work environments.
Here are some images to consider before reading the rest of this post.
As a young man, I was taught by my father, grandfathers, and other male role models in my life about the importance of looking people in the eye when you are having a conversation. When you shake someone’s hand, you give a firm grip while looking them in the eye, so they know what kind of person they are dealing with and to show that you care about them and being with them. Today, many people “fist bump” in order to help stop the spread of germs and I respect that reasoning greatly. We can still look each other in the eye though, can’t we?
Some of you might be wondering, how does this fit with something in the Bible? Well, the Bible is a great resource in learning how to be in a right relationship with God and people. There is also great information in God’s Word about staying away from some people and understanding that some people have a different calling than you. This doesn’t make those people bad and you good, or vice versa, it just means God has different paths for each one of you.
We are able to find a lot of great advice in the book of Proverbs about being wise in our relationships with others as well as what kind of people to stay away from. So, I would encourage you to be wise with your personal media devices. Perhaps for some of you it would be advantageous to put your device away by 7pm every night in order to actually spend some time with the ones you love and allow them to spend some time with you too. I encourage you that when you’re in a room with another person, unless you are working on something within good healthy boundaries, to put your device away and give that person your undivided attention. Let them know that they are important. Show them love.
Let me give you an acronym I learned when I went through youth ministry training with Tentmakers that I think could be a very good tool for you to use in your relationships. You need to LVV (Love) them:
Look at them
Give them Verbal approval
And Visual approval
LVV (Love) them
* Look at them. Don’t just look someone in the eye but actually look at them with your body language as well. What do I mean? Face them not just with your face but with your body turned to them in their direction. Give them your undivided attention.
* Verbal approval. Repeat back what someone is saying to you. You can say things like, “Yes, that is a good idea.” Or, “Yes, that makes sense.”
* Visual approval. While doing the things above, nod your head up and down in a positive manner to let this person know you are hearing them and that you care. Again, let your body language speak positivity to this person as well. Shift your body in a way that it is clear you are giving them your attention. Show them that they are important.
Most importantly, put your phone down! It’s okay; the world will go on without you. Like it or not, you don’t need to know everything going on in the world. That job is taken by Almighty God.
Some more Scriptures you could dig into: Proverbs 1:8-33 Proverbs 2 Proverbs 3
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
