"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear" (1 John 4:18a ESV).
The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 15) teaches two very profound lessons about kindness. If you want to genuinely become a kinder person, you must be willing to do two things: 1. You must be willing to be interrupted. Kindness doesn't happen on your schedule. It happens on their schedule. That's why they need kindness. At that moment, you've got to drop everything and stop. Love is often inconvenient, and kindness takes time. Think of the excuses the Good Samaritan could have given to the wounded man on the side of the road. He could have said, "I've got my own problems to think about" or "I've got important business to care for. Besides, it's probably a lost cause." Anytime you want an excuse for being unkind, the Devil will be right there to give you one. He will gladly give you a thousand excuses on why you don't have the time, energy, or money to do what needs to be done. God intentionally puts hurting people in your path so that you will learn kindness. When you encounter these opportunities today, how will you respond? Will you blow it off? Or will you seize the moment? 2. You must be willing to take risks. Many times, your own fears can keep you from being kind. Just imagine the legitimate fears the Good Samaritan could have had. He could have said, "What if I go over to help this guy, and the robbers are still here?" or today we might say, "What if he sues me?" or "What if I can't really help him? I'm not trained in first aid." How many times have you not helped somebody because you thought, "I don't know what to say"? One big fear we don't often mention: Getting involved in someone else's pain reminds us of our own brokenness. We're afraid to deal with others' pain, because then ours will bubble out. But we'll never learn how to truly show kindness until we move past our fears and extend God's love to people who are hurting. The Bible says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear" (1 John 4:18a ESV). It's God love, in fact, that first helps us heal from our own hurt so that we can then show that love to others. It's God's love that helps us move past our fears so that we can learn to be kind.
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"...present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from life to death,..." Romans 6:13 (ESV) The heart of worship is surrender. Surrender is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word submission. It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to the authorities. In our competitive world we're taught to never quit trying, never give up, and never give in - so we don't hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. Yet, the Bible teaches us that rather than trying to win, succeed, overcome, and conquer, we should instead yield, submit, obey, and surrender. And by surrendering to God, we enter into the heart of worship. This is true worship: bringing pleasure to God as we give ourselves completely to Him. Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience, cooperating with your Creator. You say, "Yes Lord" to whatever He asks of you. In fact, "No, Lord" is a contradiction. You can't claim Jesus as your Lord when you refuse to obey Him. Peter modeled surrender when, after a night of failed fishing, Jesus told him to try again: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." Surrendered people obey God's word, even when it doesn't make sense. God is not a cruel slave driver, or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn't try to break our will, but woos us to Himself, so that we might offer it freely to Him. God is a Lover and a Liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage. When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that He is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend. Have you ever wondered what matters to God? God says what matters in life is not your accomplishments or your achievements or your fame or your wealth. One of the things that matters is having a faith that causes you to love other people. If you miss that, you have missed the most important thing in life.
When speakers want to get your attention and want you to remember something, they use repetition. They say something over and over. In the first few verses of 1 Cor 13, Paul says the same thing five different ways: The most important thing in life is love. Here are some reasons why. 1. If you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you say will matter. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.” (1 Corinthians 13:1 ESV). We’re really impressed by great speakers. We love eloquence and charisma. But God says it doesn’t matter how good of a communicator you are. Are you living a life of love? If you’re not, then nothing you say will matter. Words without love are just noise. 2. If you don't live a life of love, nothing you know will matter. “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 ESV). We live in a world where knowledge is exploding. We are smarter than we’ve ever been. But we still have the same problems: crime, abuse, prejudice, violence. Why? Because the world doesn’t need more knowledge. It needs more love. You may be a genius. But God says if you don’t have love in your life, all that you know is worthless. 3. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you believe will matter. The Bible says, “and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2b ESV). There’s a myth that being a follower of Christ is just a matter of believing certain truths. Nothing can be further from the truth! Following Christ is about living a life of love. It takes more than belief to please God. 4. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you give will matter. The next verse says, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV). Love isn’t always the motivation for giving. Some people give just to get back or out of guilt or for control or prestige. You can give for a lot of wrong motives, but the Bible says if you’re not doing it out of love, none of your giving counts. The Bible is very clear about what happens when you don’t live a life of love. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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