7/24/2017 2 Comments Fruit of the Spirit: LoveThe First Fruit of the Spirit: LoveBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Love. That four-letter word, that gets all kind of lip service. I chose strawberries as a representative for this Fruit of the Spirit, not only because they are sort of heart-shaped, but because they are one of the most unique fruits out there. Strawberries have their seeds on the outside (which, turns out, they aren’t actually seeds, but hey), and they aren’t true berries: they’re a member of the rose family. There are many more facts about strawberries out there, but those are just a few. In a similar way, love is also unique. It seems to actually encompass and involve some of the other Fruit of the Spirit, such as patience, kindness, and self-control (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Defining LoveLove suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. In the Bible, we see the word “love” treated as a noun and a verb. (Identifying which part of speech a word is from always helps me figure out how to define it.) In the New Testament, we are told what love is like, and also to love others. It’s a tricky word. In our culture, we associate “love” with the ooey-gooey mushy feeling you get when you have a crush. So stop thinking that way. That’s infatuation. Instead, think of love between and your siblings, or even you and your best friend. Here, love isn’t a feeling. You probably don’t usually feel anything like romance (at least, I hope you don’t!), but you stick together, listen to each other, and do things for each other that you swear you would always do for them, because they are (or are like) family. Love is what you do, even when it means sacrifice. How Jesus Demonstrated LoveGreater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. Jesus showed a lot of love on earth, by healing the sick and waking up early and staying up late at night to pray for his disciples. But the greatest act of love was in His sacrifice. The cross is the most ultimate display of love. There is a direct way; he literally took Barabbas’ place. Barabbas was a criminal, but Jesus took his punishment instead. There is an even bigger and more significant part of this story. Jesus replaced every one of us. God has to be just, so He placed all of our sins, the millions of, billions of sins, onto Jesus’ shoulders. He served justice in the form of whips lashing against His back, the grating of already-worn skin against wood, the splinters catching and pulling on His bleeding muscles each time He heaved a breath. He served justice in the form of earnest eyes on His naked body, in the prickling thorns on His forehead, in the nails through the tendons and bone of His wrists and feet. All for love. All for you, even if you were the only sinner in the whole world. But do you really think that felt good? That it was a fuzzy feeling that lifted His spirits as His life was on the very edge of death? Let’s not kid ourselves. What made it worse for Him is that he felt utterly alone in this love. He cried, “Father, why have You forsaken me?” to God. Whether or not God had truly turned away from His Son bearing the brutality, Jesus would not be helped here. And there, alone, was where many of us would have despaired, too. Yet Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them,” and told the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” What a contrast. I have an increasingly hard time comprehending it myself. But He didn’t call angels from heaven. He endured. He suffered long. He died. And *SPOILER ALERT* he came back to life three days later! Because now was the time to rejoice, to encourage the disciples, to tell them that we now have eternal life because God loved us, and to send them out into the world to make disciples of all nations. Because Jesus loved. ConclusionThough I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love is probably the hardest and most complicated of the Fruit. But it is also the most important. Without love, we are nothing. Yet in that passage (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) where Paul writes that even if we do all these good works, and don’t love, we have nothing. It’s quoted in the song, “Proof of Your Love.” I believe that For King and Country had it right: Love is sacrifice. You can do exquisite things for the faith, even for God, but just like Jesus on the cross, it must hurt for the good and benefit of others. Love hurts. And yet, like the three days after Jesus’ death, it is so rewarding. So serving in three ministries at church hurts for me because I don’t have any Sundays “to myself.” I won’t boast—God put me in this position, and is using it to teach me wonderful things. But giving a little more than is comfortable at church isn’t something I’m used to doing. At my church, it all goes to the good of the members and the community, but I often don’t give as I should. So for me, love is to work cheerfully (yes, that is also a component of love) in the nursery, finding the joy in cleaning up spit-up and juice off the floor. Love is to give my sister more time to listen to her ideas and dreams, and to graciously help her in achieving those. Love is also being aware of the expression on my face when I tear myself away from my book or computer to listen to her, and to know when to not say anything at all. (I’m not saying that we should cover up our emotions and fake it. That’s what I thought for a while. Love is hard, and it requires us to change our selfish thinking and taking control of our emotions. I’m also not saying the complete opposite, which is hating yourself. Sometimes, you do need to think of your own safety and health if you are in danger. Loving others does not involve utterly hating yourself.) Love looks different in every situation. Sometimes it’s putting your foot down. Sometimes it’s picking it up. It can be shown through words, gifts, service, your time, or a gentle touch (5 love languages). But as we watch Jesus’ example, we can grow to find ways to love others that will please Him, increase our reward in Heaven, and ultimately glorify Him and His love. How do you show love to others? How do you do it in a cheerful manner? Song to go with this Blog Post: Proof of Your Love by For King And Country.
2 Comments
Curlycuz
1/3/2018 05:48:21 pm
Thank you for this post!It was such a blessing and showed me things I did not realize before.Like how we are like Barabbas in that we deserved punishment and then Jesus took our place.I also love your practical examples of love, like how we respond to family.And the final thing I absolutely loved was how you differentiate ooey-goey crush love and God’s Love/sacrificial love.This post is amazing and you are full of wisdom!
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Lily Calico
1/8/2018 06:37:53 am
Thank you so much! :)
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Lily Calicois an aspiring composer, writer, artist and musician. Archives
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