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.
We have examined several of Paul's statements in previous posts. Today we have come to, love is not self-seeking. To avoid confusion I will replace the term self-seeking with the term selfish. Love is not selfish. Remember brothers and sisters, love is defined here as agape, or unconditional love. It is epitomized by the type and form of love that God has for us. It is not 'Disney' love that depends on how a person performs, or makes us feel. It is a love that transcends our human failures and performs lovingly despite the same.
So, saying that love is not selfish may require that we examine the ultimate act of selflessness as a comparison to selfishness. Imagine a father who had 10 children. 9 of them were disobedient little brats that could not manage to follow the father's rules for even 1 day. So the father, who is a just man, and must punish his children who break the rules, decides that he will set aside the 10th child as a sacrifice (whipping boy) for the other 9. Now this 10th child never broke 1 rule. Yet when the time came, the father punishes the 10th child for every single disobedient act of the other 9. Not only that, but the father punishes the 10th child for every disobedient act of the 9's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grand children and so on. The punishment is physical and severe, and the 10th child does it willingly out of love for his brothers and sisters. Because he knows that the punishment he endures will put his brothers and sisters in a right relationship with the father. That, my friends, is a picture of what Jesus did for us. Now of course it is an illustration and it leaves out a lot, but you may get a picture of what unselfish love is.
Love, without regard for self---what does it look like? It looks like a mother eating bread and cheese so her babies can eat meat. It looks like that same mother eating nothing so her children can have bread and cheese. It is the person who donates a kidney to someone they don't know. It is loving people without the expectation of any return. It is an act for which there can truly be no recompense.
In a marriage unselfish love is putting your spouses needs or wants ahead of yours. It is driving the lemon, while your spouse gets the good car. It is sacrificing that warm bed and getting up to make breakfast. It is a giving a massage when all you want to do is receive one. Unselfish love is not withholding kinds words, affections, acts, money, or anything you know will bless your spouse. Trust me folks, it is cold enough in the world. Your spouse does not need to come home to a frigid house. Jesus gave everything to us. Would it kill us to be kind and loving to our mates.
Now, I cannot let you leave without making you angry with me, or maybe I just did. Christians, we have to love others so much that we are willing to jeopardize our relationship with them to tell them the truth about salvation. If you are reading this, and you are Christian, you know someone who is going to hell. Don't rationalize this and say--they can accept Christ on their deathbed. You don't know how or when that person will die. You love them, but you don't love them enough to tell them the truth. That friend who is an atheist. That cousin who smokes marijuana. That niece with the questionable facebook pictures on her page. The married friend who flirts too much. That person living a gay lifestyle. We know that these behaviors can be forgiven, but do we tell the person they need to seek His forgiveness? Do we tell them the truth in love at the right time? Or do we uphold them in the wrongdoing because we don't love them enough to want to see them in eternity? Do we rationalize their behavior so we don't have to address it? Our selfishness will cause us to not engage in conversations because they are uncomfortable. Love will make us strong enough to endure being uncomfortable for a time to see that the gospel is made clear in the lives of those we love. Look into the eyes of the one you love, and say to them, "I love you. You are very important to me. I want to spend eternity knowing you and I'm afraid for your soul. This is why." Then, my friend, tell them what you have witnessed in their lives; and tell them that Jesus will forgive it all, if they repent and believe in Him. Let unselfish love carry your words, and let God give the increase.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?