Love Never Melts

 Out shopping today I saw a small farm-styled block snowman with the caption on the bottom, “Love Never Melts.”

I thought it was cute and smiled as I walked on, but it immediately brought 1 Corinthians 13 to my mind. 

(https://biblehub.com/cev/1_corinthians/13.htm)

1 What if I could speak

all languages of humans

and even of angels?

If I did not love others,

I would be nothing more

than a noisy gong

or a clanging cymbal.

2 What if I could prophesy

and understand all mysteries

and all knowledge?

And what if I had faith

that moved mountains?

I would be nothing,

unless I loved others.

3 What if I gave away all

that I owned

and let myself

be burned alive?+

I would gain nothing,

unless I loved others.

4 Love is patient and kind,

never jealous, boastful,

proud, or 5 rude.

Love isn't selfish

or quick tempered.

It doesn't keep a record

of wrongs that others do.

6 Love rejoices in the truth,

but not in evil.

7 Love is always supportive,

loyal, hopeful,

and trusting.

8 Love never fails!

Everyone who prophesies

will stop,

and unknown languages

will no longer

be spoken.

All that we know

will be forgotten.

9 We don't know everything,

and our prophecies

are not complete.

10 But what is perfect

will someday appear,

and what isn't perfect

will then disappear.

11 When we were children,

we thought and reasoned

as children do.

But when we grew up,

we quit our childish ways.

12 Now all we can see of God

is like a cloudy picture

in a mirror.

Later we will see him

face to face.

We don't know everything,

but then we will,

just as God completely

understands us.

13 For now there are faith,

hope, and love.

But of these three,

the greatest is love.

Obviously “love never melts” is not written in this or any other version or translation of the Bible. But the idea is thought-provoking. Let’s chase this rabbit together, shall we?

When a relationship heats up in anger or hurt, and one says something to another that raises temperatures to the boiling point, Love never melts.

When a loved one has a secret issue or a hidden problem that has been exposed to the blaring light of Truth, Love never melts. 

When a storm blows in and the rain of doubt threatens to dissolve the foundation of a marriage, Love never melts.

There are so many analogies that come to mind and I could go on and on, but I think I’ve explained my point. 

But one thing bears a little explanation: the love of which I speak is not a human love. Human love, based on experience and feelings and emotions is fickle, finicky, and downright unreliable. 

The Love of God is True and Noble and Perfect. It is based outside of one’s own emotions, standards, or biases. It is this love, known as Agape, that never fails, forgets, holds a grudge, and yes, never melts. 

And it is THIS Love that the world so desperately needs right now. God’s Love is more than understanding or condoning. It is not just accepting the differences between people and moving on. It is not proclaiming that this is right and that is wrong. 

It is simply (seriously) moving and speaking and touching and doing everything with the understanding that God is God. It is shouting with every ounce of being that nothing is more or less than any other. 

Simply put, it is declaring, “I will move with and in and through the Love of God.”

And that Love, my Friends, will never melt! 

Follow- The Way

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way...' " John 14:6 NIV


When we follow signs we get where we are going. Its a simple concept. Personally, I am not a fan of the GPS on the dashboard. I would rather have the directions and watch for the signs about which I was told- a street sign, a business, an oak tree, that cow in the pasture with the large brown spot, etc. (If you've ever lived in the country, you know what I mean.)


Jesus very simply said, "I am the way." Right before this, Jesus is letting His disciples know that He is going to return to heaven to get ready for them (and us) to be there with Him. He says, "You know the way to the place where I am going."


Thomas answers, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"


This is what prompted Jesus' reply, "I am the way..." In effect, Jesus is saying, "I am the road- walk this way." or "I am the direction you should take- follow me." or "I am the manner in which you should walk- do what I do." Any of these is a good way to think of what Jesus said. 


The truth is, if I follow Jesus, I can't go the wrong way. If I walk the path He lays out, I won't get off at the wrong exit. If I do what He does, I'll never make a wrong turn. And the best way to see where and how Jesus moves is to get to know Him more. Grab your Bible and read about Jesus. A really cool tool is a Harmony of the Gospels. I found a couple of good ones for my personal study by searching Google. Click here to download a PDF you can put on your computer, iPod, or whatever. 


God, I thank You for Your Son and the way He shows how to get to you. Open my eyes to see more of Jesus. Give me the desire to read your Word and see who Jesus really is. Bless those who read this with the same desire, for Your Name's sake.


In the Potter's Hand,
JW

Follow The Call... No Matter What

"[Jesus is] not calling you to the same life everyone else will live. He's not even calling you to the same path that every follower of Christ will walk. Your life is unique before God, and your path is yours alone... Some barbarians survive the night in the lion's den; others experience their darkest night and wake in eternity." -Erwin McManus, The Barbarian Way

Why Do We Read This Bible, Anyway

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
(Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV84)

This is the whole reason in a nutshell: while God takes care of those things hidden from our knowledge, there are things He has revealed to us. Our duty is to know those things- to seek out that knowledge that God has made available to us.

This is the purpose of this space- to see what God has revealed to us and share them together. Feel free to comment, even post what God has revealed. We've committed together to read through God's Word. Let's share it here.

JW

What Are You Willing To Do?

"Love each other in the same way I have loved you." As you strive to be like Christ, be ready to lovingly sacrifice something for others. It may be. The most important thing He calls you to do. -Tony Dungy, http://tinyurl.com/7dc35dn

"...in Spirit and Truth."

Worship is a funny thing; not "LOL" funny, but "Hmmm..." funny. So many times we go to what we call "Sunday Morning Worship;" we have "worship" services; we sing "worship" songs; the list goes on and on. We use the word "worship" almost like we use the word "love." Have we lost the meaning of the word?

Jesus said, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24, NIV) So what does this mean and how does it apply to real life today?

First, we must worship God in spirit. Our spirit is that part of us that communes with God's Spirit as it works within us; not our mind, not even our heart. This is not about feelings, this is about deep communication with the Spirit of God. And yet, true worship can not only change the way we feel, true worship can work in spite of the way we feel; as long as we are willing to seek God in our spirit.

Secondly, we worship God in truth. Remember that truth is not subjective. We must always be sure that our worship of God is in accordance with the Word of God. Everything we say, do, sing and pray must pass the test of scripture. It can be as simple as, "Am I saying this in Love, or out of spite?" or "Does this song reflect a biblical truth or is it just something that I want to say?" I used to tell our Youth group in West Virginia all the time, "Truth is a person, and His name is Jesus." So by this definition, true worship must follow the example of Jesus. How did He worship? He met with God at least daily, He learned His scripture, He treated others with Grace, He loved others and had compassion on the needy and oppressed, the list goes on. But these are the kind of questions we must ask ourselves as we try to worship God.

The good news is this: while we will never get it exactly right here on earth, a day is coming when everything will be as it was meant to be from the beginning. In the mean time, when we set our hearts on the pursuit of "spirit and truth," God will honor the sacrifice made in His Name. God knows the difference between a Son or Daughter truly seeking Him as He desires, and someone going through the motions in order to fill a perceived obligation... and maybe that's 'nuf said.

JonWesley