March 20th, 2006
Sunday… yesterday’s message was great. It was better than great, it was stellar, star-struck, and it hit the subway to my heart. I went to a birthday party tonight and saw the man who delivered it. I didn’t create the opportunity to speak to him and let him know how much I appreciated him teaching me. Hopefully, he will read this and feel encouraged. He taught about love. He taught what love is and what love isn’t… but mostly focused about what love is. A man was in a hurry to meet his friend down at the nearby lake. On the way down there, he was stopped by a man fully dressed in red. The man pulled over, and the red man asked, "Hi, I'm the red jerk of the highway. Have anything to eat?" The man smiled and handed him a sandwich. He continued down the highway and was yet again pulled over by a man fully dressed in green. He stopped and the guy in green said, "Hi, I'm the green jerk of the highway. Have anything to drink?" Without smiling, the man handed the green guy his Pepsi. He started off again and started to speed down the highway. Yet again he was stopped by a guy fully dressed in blue. Sighing, he pulled over and pulled down his window, leaned out and said, "Let me guess. You're the blue jerk of the highway. What do you want?" "Registration and license please," came the reply. This was simply for humor, but I see that love is not is judgmental.
1st Corinthians 4:21 what do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?
1st Corinthians 16:13-14
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.
Galatians 5:13-15
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Ephesians 4:1-6; 14-16
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Colossians 2:1-5
1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
1st Thessalonians 5:12-22
12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
1st Corinthians 13:1-13
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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 have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 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. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 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 childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor 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.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
To love is to be someone who encourages. I am not exactly sure if these where all the scriptures that were shared yesterday or not… I don’t have my wife’s notes handy, and to be honest, I didn’t take any notes. Maybe that makes me a heathen, maybe not. I don’t know. But this is what stuck on my heart, and this is what I am responding with today. One of the things that really stuck with me is the whole “self-seeking” thing. How hard is it to be self-seeking? I mean, sports-wise, we always want to be on top, the first picked on the playground when teams are created. We always want to have the best sales at the company, the top profits, the most growth, the names mentioned in social circles…
Self-seeking (adj.):
- Pursuing only one's own ends or interests.
- Exhibiting concern only with promoting one's own ends or interests.
It really boils down to motivation. Do I do certain things to have my name mentioned on the podium, to get a plaque on teacher appreciation day, or do I do it out of love? The tricky thing is I think it starts out the latter and then twists itself around and becomes the first thing. A morphing motivation is really what happens. And one of the neat things that I see in all this, is that since love always perseveres, when the motivation starts to morph, the hope that starts the work and that is fed by the faith in the heart, it will be shown as the ill-heart that it is, and twist back into doing the things out of love. I mean, the plaques will come and go (1st Thessalonians. 5:13), and so be it… I don’t think we really need a piece of wood with some engraved metal to know that we love one another. I hope that isn’t the case. Love is having a gentle spirit. Love is having servitude toward one another. Love is being patient with one another. Love is holding others in higher regard, more regard than me. The message yesterday was a gem. It touched my heart and encouraged thought… and that is always a good thing. Johnny Out.
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