Google®, Darwin & True LOVE! A Valentine's Day Post. . .

Did anyone happen to notice the Google® homepage this last Thursday?

I do get a small portion of joy from the Google homepage artwork that appears on holidays. But last Thursday my heart was sad.

It was Abraham Lincoln's [200th] Birthday and the artwork offered up by Google to millions of computer screens was not a quirky little caricature of Honesty Abe sporting a top hat. It was, instead, an odd little drawing honoring Darwin's Theory of Evolution. I guess it was his birthday too -- and he's obviously a more contemporary figure whose remembrance clearly trumps the 16th President of the United States. That's sad.

However, last Valentine's Day - 2008, the artistic logo presented to us by the folks at Google showed an elderly couple -- a man with a cane and a white-haired women -- walking hand in hand as the woman held two heart-shaped balloons.

It really was a beautiful reminder that while our culture glorifies youthful romance [Insert Here: Recent mental flashback of annoying Vermont Teddy Bears® advertisement], True LOVE is comprised of anything but young lust and stupid, waste-of-good-money superficial gifts.

Google People: You're still not off the hook for the Darwin slip-up. That was just wrong.

The Apostle Paul's great essay in I Corinthians 13 celebrates the depth and tenacity of the love that can carry us far beyond self-interest and mere affection.

"Love 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. Love never fails."
~I Corinthians 13:4-8

Brian Wren is a hymnwriter and internationally published poet. His tender words in, "When Love Is Found," truly capture this reality:

When love is tried as loved ones change,
Hold still to hope though all seems strange,
till ease returns, and love grows wise
Through listening ears and opened eyes.

© Hope Publishing Co.

What are you doing today to share True LOVE with your loved one(s)?
Has you love grown wise?

~Esthermay

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Saturday Selah a time of encouraging one another with words that have touched our hearts or made a difference in our lives over the past week. . . a Scripture passage, a devotional thought, the lyrics to a song, or anything else that ministered to you this past week.

To be encouraged and to encourage others, link up with Patricia at TypingOneHanded.

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LOVE Lessons from First Corinthians 13 "Love is Kind. . . χρηστεύεται"

This post is part of a series addressing the Apostle Paul's words in I Corinthians 13:4-8. The words Paul chose to teach the church in Corinth in 57 A.D.
are just as powerful today. And just as necessary.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Charity [agape love] suffereth long, and is kind;
charity envieth not. . .
~ I Corinthians 13:4

The word "kind" is the Greek word χρηστεύεται [chresteuomai], which means to be adaptable or compliant to the needs of others. That's a fairly straightforward definition that should get very little resistance, but. . .

When God's highest level agape love is present in our lives, kindness means that we demand nothing (nothing!) of others -- and specifically, we do not demand that others be like us. Instead, agape love makes us want to bend over backwards to become what others need us to be for them?

Thus, the word "kind" portrays a willingness to serve and to change ourselves in order to meet the needs of others. This is completely opposite of the self-absorbed culture we live in today.

My goodness! I'm trying to remember myself when was the last time I wanted to bend over backwards to actually become what someone else needed me to be?

Real agape love doesn't think of itself first. Instead, it is always reaching out, thinking and focusing on the needs of others. The person walking in agape love adapts to those around her/him in order to touch them, help them, and impact them in a meaningful way.

It's sort of sad that there are entire books written -- and entire "Bible Study Methods" -- that instruct us on how to better ourselves, better our lives, make our lives easier and even make God more powerful in our lives by our own thoughts, words, and self-focused actions.

Oh! puh-lease! How ridiculous. And how against God's Word.

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:11: "I have learned that whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. . . . "

And I Timothy 6:6 tells us that "godliness with contentment is great gain. . . ."

If you desire a deeper and more biblical understanding of God, His ways, and His agape love -- if you desire to see Jesus Christ exalted in your life as you follow His pattern of humility, self-denial, and agape love -- if you believe a Christian's greatest hunger should be for righteousness (Matt. 5:6) and not for self. . . you (we!) would do well to think about what kindness really means.

~ Esthermay

Part 1: I Keep Hearing this Word Tolerance. . . And in the same context as Agape Love!
Part 2: Love Lessons from I Corinthians "Suffereth Long. . . μακροθυμίᾳ "

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LOVE Lessons from First Corinthians 13 "Suffereth Long. . .μακροθυμίᾳ"

This post is part of a series addressing the Apostle Paul's words in I Corinthians 13:4-8. The words Paul chose to teach the church in Corinth in 57 A.D.
are just as powerful today. And just as necessary.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Charity [agape love] suffereth long, and is kind;
charity envieth not. . .
~ I Corinthians 13:4

The words "suffereth long" are taken from the Greek word μακροθυμίᾳ (longsuffering or makrothumia) and can be translated as the words forbearance and patience.

A great word picture would be a good quality solid candle with a very long wick that is prepared to burn for a very long time. It is ready to forbear and wait patiently until someone changes - finally comes around, makes progress, or hears what you are trying to communicate or teach them.

OR - what GOD is trying to communicate and teach . . .

It is the picture of a person whose feelings for someone else are so passionate that giving up is not an option. It is the picture of a person who does not and will not give up. Ever!

Does this sound a little like God's love for us?

Agape love doesn't throw in the towel and quit. In fact, the harder the fight and the longer the struggle, the more committed agape love becomes. Like the candle it just keeps burning and burning and burning and burning . . . . It does not know how to quit. And this, of course, is contrary to human nature and this is why we see it so rarely.

I'll go out on a limb here: "It's the reason so many marriages fail!"

Romans 5:5 tells us that the agape love of God has already been "shed abroad" in your heart by the Holy Spirit (that is, IF you have accepted his sacrifice on the Cross and surrendered your life to HIM). This means you don't have to come up with this supernatural longsuffering love on your own.

God's love has already literally been poured forth -- already dispensed -- and shed into your life. You only need to ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

Are you in a relationship that tests your patience? Are you tempted to throw up your arms in exasperation? Are you ready to walk out on someone? If so, you need a good dose of agape love. Ask for it.

And if you're reading this blog and haven't yet read GOD's Word today, start with GOD's Word. It's far better.

~ Esthermay

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I Keep Hearing this Word Tolerance . . . And in the same context as Agape Love!

Indeed. . . true Love never fails.

But does it tolerate?

Love needs to be based on character, if you know and love God you see He has a lot of character we are in love with. The best thing we can do . . . is to grow in character as listed in 1 Corinthians 13. It’s a love of choice. We choose to love God, He chooses to love us. Love of choice is the most powerful love, God calls that agape love, it’s a love that lasts, we should never settle for anything else between us and God and others. It’s a love that grows. Keep fervent in your love, allow it to stretch and strain as you watch it grow.

~ Wayne Corderio

In I Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul uses the word agape to describe the highest level of love in this world. While it is the kind of love that God expects every true believer to demonstrate in his or her life, the word agape itself describes a love so completely different from what the world offers that it is used in the New Testament only to describe God's love and the love that should flow from the hearts of believers.

In each expression of agape love, we find NO suggestion, reference or insinuation to Tolerance. Rather, we find that agape love underpins and strengthens every other attribute of God, including wrath, mercy, jealousy, anger and righteousness.

But let's back-up to the very beginning of the Chapter . . .

Paul had encountered a group of people in the city of Corinth who were "super spiritual." And Paul was quite unimpressed with them because of their obvious lack of love. Their deficit clearly bothered him and he alludes to this when he writes I Corinthians 13:1:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

The words "sounding brass" are very important. The word comes from the Greek chalkos which refers to metal. But is wasn't just any metal. It was bronze or copper to which a small amount of tin had been added. This tin caused the metal to have a hollow, empty sound when it was beaten. That is why Paul also used the word "sounding."

So when Paul wrote about a "sounding brass," he was borrowing from the pagan world of Corinth to make his point about super-spiritual people who demonstrated no real love. They were hollow and empty.

Q:
Do you think a comparison could be made between the Corinthians of Paul's day and the "super-spiritual" Christians of 2009 who have adopted the Gospel of Tolerance (in the name of Agape Love), so as to appear god-like and loving and accepting while neither understanding or practicing true Love?

Do you think the First Century Corinthians became "tolerant" of the culture (and thereby accepting of it) because they feared the reputation of being intolerant?

Is it possible that these First Century Corinthians were the forerunners of the "emerging church," the "post-evangelicals," the "postmodernists," the attempt to replot New Testament Christianity into a pluralistic and secular world?

Just wondering. . .
Indeed. . . true Love never fails.
But does it tolerate?

. . . if you know and love God, you see He has a lot of character.

It is, however, a dangerous thing to emphasize one attribute of God at the expense of His Full Character. Love is but one of many attributes . To place Love at the top as a supreme or preeminent quality is not Scriptural.

Yes. We can rely upon, emphasize, and live by the words of 1 John 4:16, "God is love," but in doing so, we forget that:

♥ God is also Truth (I John 1:6,8;2;21).

♥ God is also Righteousness (I John 1:9; 2:1, 29; 3:7).

♥ God is also Eternal Life (I John 1:2; 2:17, 25).
♥ God is also Hope (I John 3:3).
♥ God is also Purity (I John 1:7, 9; 3:3).
♥ God is also Confidence (I John 2:28; 3:21; 4:17).
♥ God is also Wrathful (Exodus 32:9-10; Deut. 9:7-8; John 3:36).
♥ God is also Righteous and Just (Deut. 32:4; Isa. 45:19).

♥ God is also Jealous (Exodus 20:5-6; 34:14)

The Apostle John is a desperately needed voice of Truth in today's pluralistic and tolerant culture. His writing is bold. It is very direct. It is very dogmatic. I don't believe there is another New Testament writer that is as authoritative in his writing. John is committed to absolutes. Committed to black and white. I like him. I like him very much.

John does indeed write that God is a God of Love -- that God loved His Son -- that God loved the disciples -- that God loved the world -- that God is loved by Christ -- that Christ loved the disciples -- and that Christ taught that we should love one another -- and, finally -- that love is the fulfilling of the whole law.

Indeed. . . true Love never fails.

But does it tolerate?

John never slid into sentimentality. John never slid into tolerance masquerading as love. John never tolerated deception. He never tolerated lies. He was always committed to truth. He never tolerated sin of any kind. And in his second epistle (II John), he calls for complete separation from all those people who aren't faithful to the truth. His third epistle says essentially the same thing.

To live the Christian life refusing to acknowledge each and every attribute of God is to invalidate His Divine nature as GOD. To deny the "black and white'ness" of the Gospel is as incompatible in the Christian as it is in God!

To accept that God is loving is one thing. To deny that God is also a God of wrath and anger and vengeance because these qualities just don't match-up with his loving kindness (in our human thinking) is quite another.

No where is Tolerance equated with Love in John's writings. Nor anywhere in the New Testament for that matter!

Yet a great number of Christians have made Tolerance synonymous with Love! A great number of Christians refuse to believe God's Word if/when it contradicts their own rigid belief system. A system rooted in a false understanding of God's Love.

Indeed. . . true Love never fails.

But does it tolerate?

We choose to love God, He chooses to love us. Love of choice is the most powerful love. . .

Absolutely! But regrettably, there is this growing phenomena in today's churches. It's called Tolerance. It masquerades as Love. It is a choice, but the only "power" it hold, is the power to keep church members from knowing and experiencing God's True, Powerful, and Unconditional Love!

It is the fashion in churches today to tolerate just about anything in the name of Christian love lest we “Christians” gain a reputation of being intolerant. And in doing this we have totally sacrificed the spiritual health and maturity of the Church for years to come.

Q: What kind of things do we tolerate?

I think most of my readers can answer that. . .

. . . But I personally believe that most evangelical churches in America have become completely useless when it comes to sharing the True Message of Salvation and the True Meaning of Agape Love because they have chosen to practice Tolerance.

Indeed. . . true Love never fails.

But does it tolerate?

. . . agape love, it’s a love that lasts, we should never settle for anything else between us and God and others.

And over the next few posts, I want to address the Apostle Paul’s words in I Corinthians 13:4-8, where he speaks of love because they are powerful, powerful words. Paul lists fifteen points about the love of God and how it behaves. By peering into these verses, we can determine if our lives are indeed a reflection of this highest level of love.

Please come back!

Indeed. . . true Love never fails.
But does it tolerate?

~Esthermay Bentley-Goossen
© 2009 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

This installment of InOtherWords is hosted by Karen on her blog In Love W.I.T.H. Jesus.

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Phony ♥ vs. Real Love . . .

Let love be without dissimulation . . . .
~ Romans 12:9

If the current state of the world and our society and many of our churches is evidence of what love is. . . it is clear that we have only the foggiest of notions of what love really is.

And, in the case of the Church, if we do know, we’re certainly not doing it -- and indeed the lyrics “What the world needs now. . . is love, sweet love” are more than just an annoying commercial for Sandal’s® Resorts!

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that ". . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. . ." and it is by no mistake that Love is mentioned first in this list of spiritual character qualities. Any overview of the New Testament will very quickly show that Love in the Christian life is of utmost importance.

The word Love in 1 Corinthians 13, is the Greek word agape, meaning God-like love. And it is in this "Love Chapter" that Paul shows the absolute priority of Love, stating that all other gifts -- without love -- are utterly useless!

If agape is synonymous with God-like, then we have certainly and often abused the term.

Most Christians have equated the word love with caring, benevolent giving or -- in most cases -- nothing more than sheer emotionalism.

On more than just a few occasions, I catch myself using the term very casually and loosely. I express my “love” for physical things . . .

(e.g. "I love Ghirardelli® Dark Chocolate." "I love Downy® Wrinkle Releaser!")

I’ve notice quite a bit on the Internet lately, people substituting the word “heart” to convey their affinity for a certain object or concept:

“I heart the worship at my church,”

“I heart Diet Dr. Pepper®”

or how 'bout this: “I ♥ my Minnesota Vikings”

"I ♥ L.L. Bean"

People say they love an endless number of things. And these statements become ridiculous when we begin to understand what Scriptural love (agape) really is.

Our “love” of some physical thing is merely an opinion – a preference. A preference is not love. To use “love” in this way devalues it. . .

. . . and this is precisely why it is so easy to "fake" our love towards fellow Christians.

Go to Romans 12:9:

"Let love be without dissimulation . . . . "

The King James Version uses the old English word dissimulation, but the Greek word is anupokritos, and it describes something that is pretended, simulated, faked, feigned, or phony. It pictures a person who deliberately gives a certain impression, even though they know the impression is untrue. In other words, the person is phony.

If we have learned -- by virtue of living in this culture -- to abuse, misuse, misunderstand and fail to appreciate the word "love," how much more of a predicament are we in when we try to actually show it? It becomes apparent why we are admonished in God's Word to "Let love be without dissimulation . . . . "

Having been a pastor's wife, I can tell you with firsthand knowledge and experience that church members are perhaps and often the most guilty when it comes to being phony. There is a lot of hate out there masquerading as love; and I hesitate to put that on the blog for all the world to see because it is so, so sad.

The existence of phony Christians is a universal truth --evidenced by the hypocrisy in churches across the United States (and everywhere!) that becomes more and more widespread as time marches on. . . .

And I'm not sure why, but I receive e-mail from people asking how I personally deal with it. Well . . . I'm addressing it here by attacking the issue from it's big back-door entrance: Lack of true, Scriptural, Christlike love.

The Apostle Paul admonishes us — by instructing us -- "to put away childish things" (I Corinthians 13:11). In other words, our idea and practice of "love" is immature. And in his reference to a mirror (verse 12) -- he reminds us that love is something we grow in. He's telling us -- in so many words -- that love does not come easy. It must be perfected.

The love that we know and understand and practice now (in this lifetime) is partial. God does not give it to us in one huge portion to be used until we run out of it. In that sense, we must always see ourselves as immature -- lacking love. I'll go out on the proverbial limb here and say that I know very few Christians practicing genuine agape love. It's just not our nature!

A time is coming when love will be perfected, and we will have it in abundance like God. In the meantime -- while we are in the flesh -- we are to "pursue love" (I Corinthians 14:1).

Bottom line: Scriptural love is not something we have innately.

So how do you deal with phony love? Phony Christians?

Understand first that we're all in the same predicament. We are all flesh. We are all short of God's glory. We are all short of possessing true agape love.

Instead of getting bitter and hardhearted toward someone who has acted hypocritically in their relationship or friendship with you, learn from the experience. Make the decision that you will not be phony or hypocritical in your relationship the way this person was to you.

Make sure you forgive those who have wronged you. Let it go and do your best to overlook their inconsistencies. The Lord will deal them them about their actions against you, so if they come to you in repentance let them know they are forgiven.

You may never be given the opportunity to offer some people forgiveness. If someone is unwilling to allow the Holy Spirit to deal with them, they may not come to a point of repentance. . . . And it is not ours to judge that person's heart. It is ours to pray for them. God's timing is perfect . . . and

Someday, when you least expect it (and have altogether forgotten. . . ) someone who hurt in the past may come out of nowhere and ask for your forgiveness. FORGIVE THEM!

Jesus said this:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

~Matthew 22:39

All by itself, this establishes a pretty high standard. But HE raises this a notch when HE says this:

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

~ Matthew 5:44

HE also says this:

"Greater love has no one that this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

~ John 15:13

Will we ever live up to this?

~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen
© 2008 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

Inspiration for Fridays:

Fruit of the Spirit Friday at Heart of Wisdom
God Stop Friday at Girlfriends for God
Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary

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