The Greatest Thing in the World - 03

These posts are related to a book I'm reading called The Greatest Thing in the World by Heny Drummond. This book is about love and takes a deep dive into 1 Corinthians 13. Chapter three begins with a quote by Charles Spurgeon.

"No sooner is love born than she finds herself at war. Everything is against her, for the world is full of envy, hate, and ill-will. I would warn the most loving-hearted that they have entered upon a war for peace, a strife for love: they are born to hate hatred, and to contend against contention. As the lily among thorns, so is love among the sons of men."

I read this and I wondered why humanity rejects love and goes to war against the expression of love. Why do we fight against the very thing that will save us and make us whole. Why do we seek out our own destruction, our own de-construction, and seek chaos rather than order? I honestly don't know...yet. I feel I know pieces of this, but I will ask the Helper and he will help me understand. 

Spurgeon is right, the world is full of envy, hate, and ill-will. There are many wonderful people in the world who selflessly share love and kindness every day, but are they truly selfless? No one is good or self-less without God making a way for us. Is man totally depraved as John Calvin would suggest? Maybe, but we are created in God's image, and we all have been given the gift of choice. We all have the ability to choose love over self. I do understand that free will is not possible without the presence of a choice. If God created us to receive love without the choice to reject love, then it would be meaningless. Love is relational and relationship requires us to freely give of ourselves. Our self-nature is a gift that we possess so that we have something to give to God.  

But why is so hard for us to receive love and let go of our own destruction? Jesus was very clear that he was the way to eternal life. All else leads to destruction. All humans must be able to receive love, to know love, and to be aware that love exists. Even those who cannot define love, still know something is missing in this world. We all instinctively long for something more, something beyond ourselves. So why does the world rebel against love? I understand why those who chose to share love with others must contend with a world of hate and with the hate within themselves. For we must give everything to receive love. John 12:24 says unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it will remain unchanged. Maybe that's the answer? We ae born into a paradox. We are born with the instinct to live yet we must die to live. We will take whatever we need to survive, yet we must give away what we need in order to live. That's the choice we face. That's the way available to all who believe.


Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on Easter

Easter is always a good time for reflection and examination. The thought of what Jesus Christ has done for me is overwhelming and brings me ultimately to the foot of the cross. What more can be done in the face of such holiness and great sacrifice? All I can do is lay my life down there as well, surrender myself, my life, all I have, and all I am or ever will be. There can be no fruitfulness or fulfillment of our purpose until we lay our life down unto death. We spend so much time striving, building ministries, making better plans, and working harder. We don’t see that from Jesus. In his essay In Him and Over Him: The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus John O’Donnell says Jesus had to accept the failure of His human mission. He says “Jesus who came in the power of the Spirit to proclaim the Good News had to accept that because of the hardness of hearts of His people the kingdom could only come through the cross. And so Jesus goes to His death, tested to the utterness of His obedience,
Read more

More on Erasing Hell

I can defintely relate to this quote by Francis Chan from his book Erasing Hell . This is such a difficult topic and it's easier to just not think about it and move on.  I believe we are entering a season when God's people will feel an urgency to step up and speak the truth in a loving and firm way. Don't speak out of ignorance or your own thoughts. Know the Word . We are all surrounded by opportunities to learn the Word and allow it to transform our lives. There is no excuse for not knowing. Speak out of that transformation. Let the Holy Spirit speak for you. Know Christ deeply and allow Him to take control of your life fully. "What causes my heart to ache right now as I’m writing this is that my life shows little evidence that I actually believe this. Every time my thoughts wander to the future of unbelievers, I quickly brush them aside so they don’t ruin my day. But there is a reality here that I can’t ignore. Even as the conversations of people around me fill my
Read more

Obeying God's Voice

Image source The Bible makes no distinction between hearing and obeying God's voice. Hearing Him is the first step, but hearing requires us to obey. The writer of Hebrews warns us to not harden our hearts if today we hear God's voice (Heb. 3:15). There is no rest or peace in disobedience to His voice. When we harden our hearts to His voice, we reject the life that He is offering. I like to think of these times of obedience as continual alignment of my life with God's Word. As the Holy Spirit speaks we obey by yielding our will to His. Obedience brings transformation which makes us more and more like Christ. Doesn't a student who continues to yield themselves to the process of learning soon experiences changes in their thinking and behavior as a result? So a disciple (a learner) becomes more and more like the Master as they yield to His teaching. God's Word and His voice cannot be separated. God's voice, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Biblical messag
Read more

Intervention

I saw this picture on msnbc  today which was linking to a news video concerning Pakistanis who are desperate for aid.  My heart breaks for kids like this all over the world who go hungry every day.  I've fed hungry people in India, and its overwhelming to see people desperately grabbing for a bread roll and a small banana.  I want to see the church of Jesus Christ rise up and take the authority given to us by Jesus Christ and intervene in these situations.  We are not on this earth to make it a better place, but to share the good news of Jesus.  When people know Him, we will see better living conditions where all people are loved and treated with respect and dignity.  We can end hunger and poverty and poor drinking water conditions.  My good friend and warrior in the kingdom Suresh Kumar likes to quote William Booth "Give them soup, soap, and salvation".
Read more