LYNCHPIN

Since the beginning of this year, I have been challenging our congregation to just 'believe what the Bible says and do that' - without rationalizations - without excuses - without good reasons why it won't work for me - just believe it for what it says and do it and see what amazing things God does because you follow it.

Today, as we talked about having an attitude of criticism, which the Bible says is flat-out sin --- there was the discovery that the antidote to that kind of spirit is found in I Corinthians 13.

It says love is PATIENT:

It waits for people to change and it blesses them in the meantime.

It is persistently compassionate even when it is undeserved.

It says love is KIND:

It isn’t just passively accepting people; it is actively accepting them.

It isn’t just standing on the other side of the room saying, 'She drives me batty, so I'm just going to steer clear of her way over here. That way I won't say anything I'll regret and have to apologize for later.' (I hear that approach a lot, by the way.) But that’s not love. Active love is actually walking across the room and finding ways to bless people.

It says love is not JEALOUS - it doesn’t BRAG - it isn’t ARROGANT:

I bless you even when you are more successful than I.

I bless you even when you are more prominent than I.

I bless you even when you are more gifted than I.

I bless you even though you are better looking than I.

I am for you; I have always been for you; I will always be for you.

It says love BEARS all things:

It bears the weight of misunderstanding. 'It's what she said, but it isn't what she meant. I know it sounded like what she meant, but it isn't what she meant.'

It says love BELIEVES all things:

It believes the best rather than assuming the worst about what they did.

It says love HOPES all things:

It sees people - not as they are - but as they will be by God’s grace.

It says love ENDURES all things:

You can retreat if you want to, but I’m never going to back up when it comes to loving you and blessing you.

It says love never FAILS:

This is the lynchpin to this whole thing. Think about the implications of love never failing. If this whole church thing goes south, God, help us to be able to say it wasn’t because we didn’t love each other -- and if we truly love each other, there is no way on earth this church thing can go south.

And be blessed.