LOVE.
What is the foundation of Christianity? What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? If I may, I’d like to answer. It is love, and it means to love as Christ loved. Jesus is love, and His character and actions mirrored the Father and the Holy Spirit. So if we truly have Jesus living in us then that means we love, because Jesus is love.
Love is the basics of Christianity. And I realized this week that I must remember the basics of Christianity, and regularly remind myself what the foundation of my faith is. When I look around me I see people who are angry in the world- angry by unemployment, angry by foreigners coming into their country, angry by rising costs, angry by high taxes, angry that someone rejected them, angry that they don’t have enough savings, angry that they’re not married, angry because a relationship didn’t work out, angry that their bosses don’t appreciate them, angry that their kids don’t call them, and so on. There’s so many reasons why we can be angry.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. -1 Corinthians 13: 1-3
And, it’s so easy to be selfish in the midst of injustice, angry because of something that has been done to us, unforgiving to someone that has hurt us, and hateful to someone that has caused us great pain. I would say that some of the things we’re angry about could have been caused by self-made problems that we could have avoided if we would have sought God's guidance and would have listened to it.
Speaking out against injustice is love:
But in the midst of selfish injustice, we can speak out to those who have done unjust things to us. We can speak to those in authority to do something about the wrong that we see. I realize that not everyone comes from democratic societies so your injustice may not get sorted until Christ returns, but God knows your plight. But for those of us who do come from democratic societies, we can stop complaining and we can present the evidence of wrongdoing, and make an effort to fix unjust situations for ourselves and others. To do this is to love.
In the midst of the things people have done to us, we must forgive. Every situation is different and time is needed to calm emotions and pain, but after the dust has settled and the clouds have cleared, we are required by God to always forgive “70 times 7” (Matthew 18:22).
Remembering what love is:
In the midst of pain and disappointment caused by others, we must remember what love is:
It is patient, it is kind, it is not envious, it is not prideful, it is not puffed up, it is not rude, it does not seek its own agenda, it is not provoked, it doesn’t even think to do evil in return, it doesn’t rejoice in iniquity, it rejoices in truth, it bears all things (even pain, disappointment and joy), it hopes all things, it endures all things (the good, the bad and the ugly) and it never fails. (From 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)
Even in His mission on earth, through all the rejection, hatred, unkind words, being misunderstood by people- even members of his own family- and finally to His crucifixion and death, Jesus was always loving. How He was able to love through all He went through is beyond me, but He is the model to look to when we experience unloving acts. Even on the cross He asked God to forgive those who put Him there, which was our sins (Luke 23:34). But He was allowed love to fuel his actions. So in our moments of anger, rejection and hurt, may we open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 13 to remind ourselves what love truly is. And may we look to the example of Jesus, and pray to God to help us love and not hate.
Happy Friday!
