I got back to church this morning, discovering that our regular pastor Travis Allen wasn't there, as he is away at a conference. He and his family will be leaving soon for Colorado, where he will taking over a church there. I did get the opportunity to meet the new pastor who will be replacing him, Carl Hargrove, a man who had been with our church back in the early 90s, before pastoring in other church's in South Central Los Angeles and Inglewood. When I mentioned him to Mom and Dad, Mom recognized him immediately, while Dad thought that his name sounded familiar.
Anyway, today one of the other leaders in the group gave the second half of a message he began last week in 1 Corinthians 13, about godly love, its necessity, and its purpose. Any sort of ministry without godly love is worthless, like the noise of clanging bells Paul uses as a picture in verse 1. The love we should have is for one another's edification, seeking what is best for the other person and not for ourselves, and that which is glorifying to God.
I realized that in this way, my love has grown cold as of late. The verses that describe the nature of godly love (verses 4-8) convicted me of the fact that these qualities had been missing from my love. I had been become impatient, quick to anger, wondering when things in my life were going to get better. I had turned in on my own concerns rather than the concerns of others. I always seem to forget that at this point in my life, nothing makes me more miserable than about myself. When I'm turning that focus upward and outward, the. I remember very clearly God's goodness to me.
Pray for my spiritual growth, and that God would show me those opportunities to demonstrate His love to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment