May We Clothe Ourselves in LOVE!
The apostle Paul wrote within his letter to the church living in the city Colossae—
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved,
(The Letter of Paul to the Colossians 3: 12-14 NASB)
put on a heart of compassion,
kindness,
humility,
gentleness,
and patience;
bearing with one another,
and forgiving each other,
whoever has a complaint against anyone;
just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
We pray, ‘God, please open the door or shut the door. Lead me wherever You wish for me to go.’ Today, I am convicted by this past prayer I have prayed because there have been times when I know this has been my prayer, when in reality, I KNEW THE WAY I DESIRED TO GO—WHICH DOOR I WANTED GOD TO FLING OPEN AND WHICH DOOR I WISHED HE WOULD CLOSE TIGHT.
- God shuts some doors tightly.
- God does this because He loves us—PEOPLE!
We know this to be the Gospel Truth because the Bible tells us so. Repeatedly, the apostle Paul wanted to go in one direction and God shut that door, keeping Paul’s missionary journeys in other locations, in the places God wished for Paul to go. Just consider for a moment a single lady, a seller of purple cloth whose name was Lydia. This European lady may never have come to know Jesus Christ as her Savior if God had allowed His servant Paul to go wherever Paul wished to go. As it was, God sent Paul to specific places, to speak a specific Gospel message, to reach a specific person God wanted to reach—LYDIA, THE VERY FIRST EUROPEAN REACHED, A LADY WHOSE ENTIRE FAMILY THEN BELIEVED WHEN THEY SAW HER FAITH.
Truly, the Gospel spread across “the uttermost places” (with one place being the land of Europe) BECAUSE GOD SHUT THE DOOR TIGHT & BECAUSE GOD OPENED WIDE THE WAY HE WANTED HIS APOSTLE PAUL TO GO!
Now, it is human nature to compare things—
- We may compare our travel journey to work, searching for the most efficient way to go.
- We may compare one university to another, searching for the best one we should attend.
- We may compare one pair of jeans to another, searching for the most slimming pair to wear.
Comparisons can be beneficial.
However, comparisons can also be detrimental—when we compare ourselves to other Christians.
- We may see our Spiritual gift, seeking to know why we cannot do this or that like so & so.
- We may see our Spiritual journey, seeking to know why we cannot go to this place or that.
- We may see our Spiritual walk, seeking to know why we seem to struggle more than others.
THEREIN LIES THE PROBLEM!
WE SHOULD NOT COMPARE OURSELVES TO ANYONE—OTHER THAN JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF!
I have often heard pastors say: “Our only measuring stick should be Jesus Christ.”
Many believers have struggled with ‘comparison,’ and we know this to be the Gospel Truth because the Bible tells us so. The apostle Peter questioned his Savior Jesus & was effectively reminded by the Lord that it was not Peter’s benefit to know or to compare himself to anyone—OTHER THAN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The beloved apostle John recorded Jesus’ teaching—
“Truly, truly, I say to you,
(The Gospel According to John 21: 18-22 NASB)
when you were younger,
you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished;
but when you grow old,
you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you,
and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
Now this He said, [Jesus said this to the apostle Peter]
signifying by which kind of death he would glorify God.
And when He had spoken this, He said to him, [Jesus said to the apostle Peter]
“Follow Me!”
Peter, turning around,
saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them;
the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said,
“Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
So Peter seeing him
[the apostle Peter asked this question about the apostle John]
said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
“Jesus said to him, [Jesus spoke directly to Peter]
“If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?
You follow Me!”
Allow Jesus to probe deep within our hearts to find the depth of our sinful desires & to alert us when we are far off the path, the plan, & the purpose He has for us to go.
FOR IT IS A TRUTH—WE CAN NEVER OUT-LOVE GOD!
- WE CAN SHOW OUR LOVE BY OUR SERVICE—TO HIM!
- WE CAN SHOW OUR LOVE BY OUR CARE FOR OTHERS—LOVING AS JESUS LOVED!
Finally, we also know this to be the Gospel Truth because the Bible tells us so.
“We love,
(The First Letter of John 4: 19-21 NASB)
because He first loved us.
If someone says, “I love God,”
and hates his brother,
he is a liar;
for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And this commandment we have from Him,
that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”
May We Clothe Ourselves in LOVE!
Let us keep in step, going where the Holy Spirit leads!
May we write within our spiritual journal the way, the teachings, and the examinations of our own souls, doing that which God Himself is revealing to us!
- Journal, writing for no one other than yourself.
- Journal, writing as you study God’s Holy Word.
- Journal, writing to record the numerous prayers the LORD is answering.
We know this is something we should do as Christians because the Bible tells us so.
“Let us examine and probe our ways,
(The Lamentations of Jeremiah 3: 40 NASB)
And let us return to the LORD.”
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