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Monday, October
13, 2008
A Longsuffering Love
1 Corinthians 13:6-7 Rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; (7) Beareth all things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (KJV)
Williams New Testament translation
of 1Corinthians 13:6-7
6.
Is never glad when wrong is done, but always glad when truth prevails; 7.
It bears up under anything; it exercises faith in everything; it keeps up
hope in everything; it gives us power to endure in anything.
What the author of this chapter is making
reference to is one simple word, love. The love of God that is being shed
abroad in your heart is what will give you the insight and strength to
handle any and all situations that come up in your walk even to the point
of something you know is not right. Remember the love of God that He gave
to you, even when you were a sinner? Well that same love is what He is
asking each of us to demonstrate also.
Colossians 3:12-14 Put on therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering; (13) Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as
Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (14) And above all these things put on
charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (KJV)
Thayer’s definition for
‘longsuffering’:
3115
makrothumia-
1) patience, endurance, constancy,
steadfastness, perseverance
2) patience, forbearance, longsuffering,
slowness in avenging wrongs
When we put on the armor of God we are to
leave it on so that it can protect us from the fiery darts of the wicked
one. Sometimes things happen, even within the body of Christ, that are not
always pleasant to deal with. Knowing what to do and how the Lord would
have us handle these situations is what will keep things in a decent order
and allow us to avoid total chaos. There are times the Lord will ask us to
be longsuffering, just as He has been with us. Rather than allow a quarrel
to escalate and turn into something resembling a Jerry Springer episode,
the Lord will have you back off and pray, and patiently endure the trial of
your faith.
As we see in verse 14, first and foremost
one must put on love, which is what the word charity means, which is the
bond of perfectness, or maturity. Having watched children over the years I
notice that when there is a conflict, like when one child takes something
from another one, the first reaction is to strike back which then leads to
conflict. Those that have been maturing in Christ and understand the love
of God know that their first response to something that contradicts sound
doctrine should be spiritual, waiting to hear the Lord’s response and not
striking back in retaliation.
Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
(23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (24) And they that are Christ's have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts. (KJV)
If you notice the order again, it starts
with love, first and foremost, which then allows all the other attributes
of the fruit of the Spirit to manifest. One of the affections and desires
of the flesh is to lash out when a conflict arises, which then escalates
the problem and drowns out the solution. Greater love can no one have than
to lay down their life for the brethren, which sometimes means taking
personal hits against yourself without retaliating, even when you know
these hits are unfounded and are lies. As verse 24 makes reference to
crucified, it does hurt at times, but remember what our Lord Himself
endured so that you could have access to His kingdom.
Hebrews 12:2-4 Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God. (3) For consider him that endured such contradiction
of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (4)
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. (KJV)
You know, basically what the author is
saying is, that before you decide to throw a pity party and send out a
whole bunch of invitations because someone said or did something you didn’t
like or you are enduring some persecution for your stand in the Word, keep
in mind what our Lord endured. Many of God’s people have died and went
through awful tribulation for the Gospel’s sake so that this message of
love could continue and you could have access to it. Our Lord resisted unto
the point of pouring out His own blood so that the price for sin could be
paid and the fellowship restored again between us and God. So give it a
rest and quit your whining and sniveling, until you truly have resisted
unto blood yourself it pales in comparison to what others have and are
enduring.
2 Timothy 3:10-12 But thou hast fully
known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
(11) Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium,
at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord
delivered me. (12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
suffer persecution. (KJV)
Oh but I want to be used of God, I want
to be a big name preacher and have a huge ministry following. Well those
kind of people are a dime a dozen; people pleasing ear tickling wannabe’s
who don’t have a clue as to what a true man of God is. Before you go asking
the Lord to use you for His work keep in mind the flip side to what it
takes to please Him, thus the reason why you need to watch what you ask for
because you just might get it. Are you willing to crucify your own lusts
and desires? Are you willing to be longsuffering and patient in
tribulation? Oh these guys on these big stages, that speak great swelling
words that build up their egos and not the congregation, that’s not reality
people! Paul was a man God used to deliver His message, but along with that
came some nasty persecution from those that claimed to be of God, but were
imposters. Ever hear the term ‘friendly fire’? Well keep a watch people,
because it was the religious crowd that crucified our Lord, and it was
those that claimed to be of God that persecuted Paul. It is the religious
crowd that will come against the message the Lord would have you deliver as
well, so don’t be surprised when it happens.
Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner
of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye
are called, (2) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering,
forbearing one another in love; (3) Endeavouring to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace. (KJV)
One of the ways to keep the unity of the
Spirit is that, you are going to have to bite your tongue and patiently
endure things at times even though you know it is not right. In order for
you to walk worthy of your heavenly vocation, a longsuffering love is an
absolute must that one needs to keep in mind if they wish to endure to the
end and fulfill their calling.
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