WEIGH DOWN AND THE DESERT OF TESTING: THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE
WEIGH DOWN AND THE DESERT OF TESTING: THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE
It is time that we wake up and see that being our own god has gotten us nowhere and that bowing down to the world has robbed us blind. Second-rate gods are worthless. We ought to be thankful that God is crazy about us and willing to have us. It is called grace.
And God spoke all these words:
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
"You shall have no other gods before me.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:1-6)
This is a cry from God’s heart of "I have made you and I have taken care of you, and I have delivered you. Be in love with and devoted to me only."
It is better to be emptied out in the desert and be with our Great God than to be indulged in the world without God. Plus, those who hang in there through the desert will get to the Promised Land. I cannot wait to tell you about that!
The heart is a tricky thing. You cannot look at the outside or the environment of people to see what is in their hearts. You could have two people eating rich chocolate cake, and one could be sinning and the other not. How is that? One’s heart could be committing adultery, and the other’s heart be wholeheartedly in love with God— enjoying His bounty, but with a heart detached from it.
King David worshipped all the time; his heart loved everything about God. "Oh, how I love your law [your ideas, etc.]! I meditate on it all day long" (Psalm 119:97). Jesus was in love with God, and He said,"’… but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me …’ " (John 14:31).
So, the Desert of Testing has been worthwhile to see if there is love in our hearts for God.
Jesus’ life defined love. The Apostle Paul loved Jesus and God the Father. It was his very life. Paul teaches us what love means in 1 Corinthians 13:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. This passage tells me we could give all our possessions and money, give our body to be burned, and be the greatest orator or singer of the century for God; but if we are not in love with God, we are nothing and we gain nothing! When you fall in love with God, you will no longer need all these tutors and professors (tongues and prophecies), because you will have graduated and found the end, love of God. Having faith in God is great; having hope in God is good; but the greatest of these is being in love with God. And that is the heart of the matter.
*50\237\2*
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.