(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)
Dear friends, I pray to find you blessed and encouraged on this beautiful day.
Someone once said, that in this life there is one thing that there will never be a shortage of... and that is (problems).
I couldn’t agree more! You see, in a perfect world, we would all get along, we would all agree with one another, we would all help each other out and there would be no negativity among us. All would be perfectly well in our families, in our homes, in our jobs, in our workplace, and so on… there would be no issues among us, and our current life would be peaceful and blissful joy, daily.
Now, there will come a day for Christians that this will be true and even better than we could ever imagine! But in the meantime, as long as we are in this temporary world, the saying is true “There is no shortage of problems and circumstances that we will face.”
Throughout The bible we are given clear instructions on how to live a life of fulfillment in Christ while we are here on earth. We’re given all the tools needed to live a Godly and pleasing life unto the Lord.
You may have heard of the popular acronym: B - basic I - instructions B - before L - leaving E - earth One of our instructions is to live a life of peace among others. (Romans 12:18) If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Furthermore the scripture says in- (Mark 12:30-31) 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
So we do this, we try our best everyday and everywhere to live at peace among one another in whatever dealings we have going on in life. And it’s great when things are going well but it’s Inevitable, we will eventually bump heads with someone or something along this path called life.
When this happens, pressure takes a toll on us does it not? We can easily start acting upon our emotions rather than wisdom. When we face a difficult problem or circumstance with people, we can say things we wouldn’t normally say, and even act in ways that we normally wouldn’t.
Well, when life feels like it’s gotten the best of you, and you’ve gotten to a place where you don’t even know who you are anymore, there is a gauge for life that we can run back to anytime we need a restart.
This Gauge is LOVE. In the book of1 Corinthians, Paul was addressing a list of problems in the church.
Deep into his letter, Paul seems to set aside his long list of church problems and headaches to write about love. But not just any love, he was talking about the greatest form of love- (agape love).
In 1 Corinthians 13:1-12 Paul sets the gauge and shares the qualities of this love, Who is Jesus Himself. And he ends in verse 13 by saying this - and now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Whenever there are problems, whether in a church, a marriage, or any significant relationshipthe first thing to slip out the back door is the steady, timeless, selfless, sacrificial love that our Lord Jesus modeled for us. When Jesus wrote his own letter to the church in Ephesus (Rev.2:1-5), He complimented them on their hard work and their accurate doctrine, but he also brought a serious charge against them: they had lost their love. As a result, they were about to lose everything else.
Dear friends, maybe the place to start when we feel like we’ve lost our way with our relational problem- solving efforts, is to first ask the Lord to restore the selfless love that only He can give, maintain, and ultimately perfect in us.
Oh, that we would set our Gauge on LOVE.
With Love, Your brother in Christ, Pastor Billy Montes