Just yesterday I read this post on Facebook, "The most important thing in life is to hear God's voice. Yes or No?"
Assuming this wasn't referencing Christ's initial, personal call to salvation, then my answer would be 'no'. As I shared in my response by comment to this social media survey, I don't deny that I long to hear the Lord speak to me, and I am absolutely thrilled when He gives specific direction through the reading of His Word, but hearing God's voice can become a very self-centered desire. If my life is consumed with wanting God to speak to me, if it's my "most important thing in life", my focus has shifted away from what the Lord says is "a way of life that is best of all." (1 Corinthians 12:31b)
God calls us to love. As Paul expressed, love should be our highest goal. Nothing surpasses God's command for us to love. In the Gospel of Mark, the author records Jesus as saying, "The most important commandment is this...you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)
In 1965 a secular song peaked as number one in Canada. With lyrics and music composed by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, the main melody and chorus were written three years earlier, but the delay in completion was a struggle to express in lyrics the conveying of the message. Just last year, 2023, this song was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry. What is this song that drew such attention? "What the world needs now is love, sweet love; It's the only thing that there's just too little of; What the world needs now is love, sweet love; Not just for some, but for everyone." If those who are possibly completely unaware of God's commandments know the need for love, why do we as His children struggle so much to see and share what the Lord says is the greatest and highest goal?
The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is limitless in its endurance, holds on to faith until the end, has unfading hope and never gives up. This love believes the best and makes the choice to trust. It waits expectantly. It remains steadfast when faced with setbacks. It never fails. So how can we have a love like this? We can't. Our best efforts and strong determination will fall short. Sooner or later, we have to confess that we need God's love in us to flow through us. Only the One who has perfect love can perfect the love in us.
Love is to be our greatest quest. It is not self-centered but seeks to benefit the one being loved. It doesn't just believe, hope and endure some things, but all things. Because love has the ability to outlive all the other gifts it has the capacity to last forever.
Recently I watched a movie entitled "Radio". It is based on a true story of a football coach who befriended a mentally disabled young man who would come and stand at the fence watching the team's practice. As coach Jones begins to reach out in love to "Radio" his self-confidence begins to soar. It's incredible how extending love impacts the teenager's life. As the cost of loving comes into play and choices have to be made, the coach's wife makes a memorable statement: "It's never a mistake to care for someone. It's always a good thing."
Love is always a good thing. Choose to love today.
No comments:
Post a Comment