I had planned to start into chapter 14 today but the last
line of chapter 13 which has never "bothered" me in my life has been
bothering me the last few days. I had the sense there was more than I could see
but couldn't figure out what it was. This morning I listened and went
searching. Jesus said we will search for Him and find Him if/when we search
with all our hearts. Here's what I found:
Up until today I read the verse to say that there are three
important things, faith, hope, and love and of the three love is the greatest.
The Greek word translated abide or remain is a verb, an
action word. It is actually the third word of the verse. It can mean, depending
on the context - I remain, I abide, I stay, or I wait.
Now think about what Paul said that lead him to make this
final statement which should (I believe) read like this: "Now moreover
abide in hope, faith, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is
love."
Remain in the hope that we will see Him face to face, that
the childish darkness we live in now will give way to more and more of His glory
and we will come to know Him as deeply and intimately as He knows us. Remain in
the faith that all these things will come to pass for anyone who comes to God
must believe that He Is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently
seek Him.
Now why remain in love and why is it the greatest of the
three?
Remain in His love even as a child, fumbling in the dark,
thinking we know when we don't, throwing tantrums when His ways are not our
ways, frustrated because we can't see Him, can't understand Him, and it feels
like we may never. Remain in His love when you make mistakes born from our
blindness and immaturity. Remain in his love just a child who runs from home
always returns because love draws them back.
Remain in His love that is always patient when we give Him
countless reasons to lose patience, always kind when we are not. Perhaps the
most staggering one for me is that God keeps no record of wrongs. Remain in His
love.
I was always taught that there is a "book" that has
all my sins and all your sins written down. There is. It's in the Bible. What I
have since learned is that God is not the author of this "book". He
keeps no such record. It is kept by the accuser of the brethren - Satan
himself.
Love keeps no record.
Remain in that love, God's love. Hope can wobble because we
wobble. Faith can flicker because we are fickle. But if our anchor of hope and
faith is anchored in His unchanging and unchangeable love we have nothing to
fear.
Love is the greatest for He is love and love wins.
No comments:
Post a Comment