Church thoughts to chew on for November 22nd, 2009: Enduring Love

Posted By Steph | November 23, 2009

thoughtstochewonNow it’s my turn to give the church thoughts a shot.  Ryan has done a great job posting the last few notes from our church services, and we have had a great response from all of you.  We’re going to continue on with our reveiws, so be sure to send any thoughts or questions that you may have our way.

This is the last sermon during our iLove series on studying the  the core values of the 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 passage

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 trust, always perseveres.

Today we examined the last sentence of this verse: “It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres.”.

Love - always protects
The first key in an enduring love is to GET OVER YOURSELF.  That’s right, you need to actually be willing to shift your focus from yourself to others. An important question to ask is, “what are you willing to put up with to love?”.  You will never be able to bear all things if you are too focused on yourself.  In 1 Corinthians 9:12b, Paul writes, “…we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.” If you find yourself to a point in which you feel you are unable or choose not to bear with a situation in love, remember what Christ ‘put up with’ when He forgave you.  Colossians 3:13 reminds us to, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Here are some examples of how ‘love protects’ applies:

What is God putting up with to love you? It is impossible to get over yourself until you have something greater to move on to.

Love- always trusts
I find this one can prove to be some what of a challenge. In order to trust, we must always BELIEVE THE BEST of a person.  The great thing, however, is that we can put our trust in the faith of the person, not in the person them self.  This is not always the easiest thing to do, and will most likely not be your first reaction in dealing with trusting people.  It’s very easy to pick out the negatives in a person instead of focusing on the positives that will help to continue to build trust.  It is only until you begin to believe the best in people that you will bring out the best.

Love- always hopes
One of the most comforting pieces of this effort in love is MANAGING YOUR HOPE.  Hope is only as important as the object you place it in and when your hope is in the Lord, what can defeat you?  No matter how bad things become, there is always hope beyond this world.  It is also very important to remember that hope does not deny reality.  Hope gives you power for the present.  The constant struggles and hardships of our daily lives are put into perspective when we focus on the fact that, “…the faithful love of the Lord never ends!” - Lam. 3:22

Love- always perseveres
Persevere means to patiently endure, which brings up an interesting question.   How do you respond to the daily challenges of loving others?   The key is to ACCESS YOUR STRENGTH in God.  Our human nature prevents us selfishly to fully love.  Not relying on our human strength but relying on our spiritual strength in God will allow us to experience enduring love for others be it a friend, family member, spouse or complete stranger.  The writer of Hebrews focused on the great power of Christ as He endured the cross for us. (Heb. 12:2-3) He gives us His great power and strength through His love for us, and in turn we are able to love others in the way that He loves.

It’s a lot to chew on this week, but these principles are at the core of every relationship in our lives.  Are we willing to apply these truths when it’s not easy to love or understand?  It’s easy to start something, like loving another, but it’s not always easy to finish.  It takes a lot of hard work and determination to apply these values in our relationships.  In the end it’s our faith that allows us to endure these hardships and love completely.

Filed Under you gotta have faith

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