TEXT:

‘Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love’ – 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

THOUGHT:

Soon it will be Easter, when the following Bible texts are so poignant: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son’ – John 3:16, and ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends’ – John15:13.

In this teaching I want to take the word Love and use each letter as an acronym.

• L – Listen

We are living in a world where everyone wants to be heard but few want to listen. The Epistle of James powerfully puts it like this, ‘You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry’ – 1:19 NLT. It’s hard not to be formulating a response before we have even heard, understood and digested what the other person is saying. The fact that we have two ears and one mouth reinforces the need to listen more! An over-fussy City Building Planner once said to me, “I hear what you are saying”, yet nothing was further from the truth. He was making sure I heard him. My concerns about his proposals greatly increasing our building costs were totally ignored. When God is trying to speak to us, directly or through others, let our response be like Samuel’s, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’ – 1 Samuel 3:10 NLT

• O – Obey

King Saul found out the hard way that obedience is better than sacrifice – 1 Samuel 15:22. Jesus said, ‘If you love me keep my commandments’ – John 14:15. We are instructed to obey our parents (providing it does not go against what God says), those who have the rule over us whether in the church, city or government. Disobedient children are an embarrassment to their parents and the same is true when Christians disobey their Heavenly Father. ‘Not my will but yours be done’ is a challenge, yet we can do it if we really want to.

• V – Value

There are two aspects I want us to focus on about valuing.

Value Fellowship

Our born again spirit needs fellowship and feeding. Strong Christians have learnt the benefits of regular fellowship, both Godward and with other Christians. If the only fellowship I have is Godward, then I become selfish and isolated. If it is only man-ward I become dependent on others and neglect the most important person concerning my faith, God Himself – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Do not treat your church like a convenience store, only using it when you feel the need to. Be faithful in attendance and with your giving. Then see the difference that makes.

From time to time during the week I need to meet with other Christians, but daily I need to spend time with God through prayer and reading my Bible. If this has been neglected in recent months, it’s time to restore it and see how your spiritual strength recovers.

Value those you fellowship with

A wrong opinion in this respect will cause us to fall into the trap of pride and pitying others, thinking they need us more than we need them. Do not just pray for them, appreciate and thank God for them. Together, we all make up the Body of Christ and every member contributes to and receives from other members. Not one member of that body can exist on its own as 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 makes clear. Jesus said, ‘I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins’ – Luke 22:15 NLT. It meant so much to Him to be with His disciples.

Remember, the group of believers you are stuck with, are stuck with you, but when we learn to value each other, the power of love with flow out. We will be amazed how much those, once thought weak and needy, have contributed to our own spiritual life.

• E – Evangelise

We do not have a more important message to tell than the gospel. Who have you told it to? Who can you tell it to? The real buzz in Christianity is witnessing, sharing your faith, telling your story in your own words. Five minutes of evangelism can lift even the darkest day. Many Christians shy away from witnessing, hiding behind misconceptions such as, “I don’t know what to say” or “I don’t have all the answers”.  Yet they show no such hesitation when it comes to talking about a new job, car, house or hobby. They excitedly tell what they feel and have experienced, without worrying about what they do not know!

Without evangelism both church and Christian alike dry up and die, but more importantly those who need it most never get to hear about the only One who can save them from their sins.

Less than sixty days after Jesus died on the cross, the early church was empowered by the Holy Spirit and Christians displayed this attitude, ‘All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer’ – Acts 2:42 NLT. Little wonder the church grew so rapidly.

L. O. V. E. – A four letter word this world cannot do without!