spiritual gifts - Jeremiah's Vow

God’s Love Through Paul’s Eyes

First Corinthians 13 has been called the chapter of love. It contains beautiful and poetic language regarding the nature of love. As I have read it this week, I found myself struck by the opening verses of that passage. There is something in the way that Paul instructs the Corinthian church that deeds without proper motive are vacuous and utterly worthless efforts.

At first it is difficult to understand why Paul takes such a hard stance on our need to love in all we do. Sure, it makes sense that we should be kind and generous to others. We should not see to do harm to those who have wronged us. But, there is something else at work in Paul’s examples. He reminds us that we must take care not to get lost in our own spiritual endeavors that we forget our companions on the way.

Paul highlights that the possession and exercise of spiritual gifts does not give us license to do as we wish. The examples Paul uses are spectacular. These are not small or insignificant gifts. She are big, visible, in-your-face gifts, but if it’s about the individual then it is nothing more than a charade. It seems that the temptation to take advantage of spiritual gifts was something that had become common place in that church. The struggle to remain humble had given way to personal gain and influence.

Paul ends the chapter by telling us that of all the gifts that will abide faith, hope, and love will remain forever. These three are given prominence among all of God’s gifts to the saints because they are different from the all the others. All the spiritual gifts discussed in chapter 12 are to be used by the believer for the benefit of those in the church. Faith, hope, and love are not like this. These three are given to the believer as a means of confirming the presence of God within us. The fact that faith, hope, and love will abide forever, is an indication that what God has done was intended to produce these three things from the start.

The question that rolls around in my mind is why love is the greatest. What is it about the nature of love that make it rise above the other two? I think it is greatest because it is a reflection of God’s own character. Love, while it resides within us, must be expressed sacrificially. I can speak in tongues, move mountains, and give everything away and it not really be a burden or a struggle to do so. It makes us feel good to do those thing most of the time. But, when the task required is costly; when it calls for a deeper level of commitment; when there is no inherent benefit to me, love must be present for me to act.

Love is sacrificial. When we love the way God does, it forces us to not consider the ramifications to ourselves. We see the one in need and we are compelled to act. Love is more than just an emotion. A true act of love engages us to the very core of our being.

I think Paul understood this better than most. After all he had done, God loved him and taught him how to love others. As I read this famous chapter, I read it as an acknowledgement by Paul of what he experienced when God loved him and saved him. This is Paul’s description of God’s love toward him, the chief of sinners. A magnificent one at that.

Reflections on a Motion Picture | “Out Of Bed You Daisy Head”

The movie Sister Act is a great movie. I know there maybe some who would not agree. And that would be alright. I have watched the movie many times over the last few years. There are a couple of scenes in particular that really speak to me as it relates to faith and the living out of faith. Continue reading “Reflections on a Motion Picture | “Out Of Bed You Daisy Head””

Growing Pains, Pt. 2 | “Ministry”

“Am I A Minister?”

I have had this question asked of me and I would like to say that the answer to this question is yes–and no. It is “yes” because we all have accepted the salvation that Jesus Christ died to provide for us. We all are capable and encouraged to share and speak about the faith that we now profess to live. Peter speaks about the priesthood of believers, which implies to me that there is a shared responsibility to minister.

But the answer to the question is also no. It is “no” because not all who believe in Jesus are called to be pastors, teachers or evangelists. Not everyone is called to preach and to stand in front of the church and proclaim the gospel. Not everyone is called to be a preacher because there must be a desire, a passion for the word and work of Jesus Christ, a willingness to share the Gospel. Ultimately, our willingness to be a part of the process is what God wants from us.

Not being a full-time minister does not relieve any us of our responsibility to model, tell and live the life and death of Christ in our bodies before the world for them to see.

Ministry is not an Option

After Peter denied Christ, Jesus gave him the same number of opportunities to be reconciled (John 21:15-19). Having done so Jesus sent Peter to feed His lambs. While the command to feed the lambs is found within a specific personal and historical context, I believe that it is a much more general command. One that must be listened to by all who love Jesus. To follow Jesus is to walk where He walked, doing what He did, with love and grace.

When we identify with Jesus we buy into the ministry that He came to bring. The great commission shows us this. Jesus, once He had suffered, been crucified, died and was resurrected did not leave this earth without leaving some final instructions. There is work left to be done and that work is the responsibility of all who bear His name. Do you know when we will no longer have to worry about spreading the Gospel? When we are in heaven.

Ministry is not an option for the Christian. Some may feel that they are exempt because they do not know enough or because they have not been Christians long enough. These are not valid reasons for not ministering. The most basic Christian responsibility is to love one to another and this is done through ministry.

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians tells us that we all have spiritual gifts. So the question that each Christian should ask is why? These gifts that are different and given to all have at the root of them have one purpose–to minister other believers and to the world around us.

Learning To Say, “Yes!”

When we think of the word minister we most often think of someone who is a pastor or who, at the very least, works for a church. The word minister actually means “to serve.” There are some professional ministers that have forgotten this, but that does not give the rest of the body of Christ the right to forget. The Christians in this modern time must come back to what is most important, service. We ought not to dread doing the work of the church.

Many do not serve because they do not know where to serve. Others fail to serve because they do not know how to serve. Still others fear serving because they believe they have nothing to offer. All of these would be incorrect. Allow me one last word of encouragement. Just say “Yes!” to God and the rest will take care of itself.