1 Corinthians 13:1-3
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.

Paul speaks candidly about love. It doesn’t matter how much God has blessed you with knowledge, wisdom, or tongues. The strongest faith imaginable doesn’t matter. Completely giving your possessions to the poor doesn’t matter either. The only thing that matters is love.

What did Paul mean when he said, “I am nothing” and “I gain nothing”? In the book of John, Jesus makes it clear how important love REALLY IS.

John 15:4-12
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Jesus is saying this, if you REMAIN IN ME, MY WORDS, AND MY LOVE, you:
1) Will glorify God
2) Will bear much fruit
3) Will be given what you ask
4) Will show yourself to be a disciple
5) Will obey God’s commands
5) Will have joy that is complete

Jesus is also saying this, if you DO NOT REMAIN IN ME, MY WORDS, AND MY LOVE you:
1) Can bear no fruit
2) Can do nothing
3) Are like a barren branch to be thrown into the fire and burned

Apart from Jesus and his LOVE, we are nothing and we gain nothing.

This must be poem week! Jason Coker started off with a poem from Tram Combs, my wife followed suit by posting two poems she had written several years ago while we were dating. I haven?t written a poem in at least 10 years. I felt inspired, so I just wrote…

Enslaved

Darkness raging within
Silent arrows pricking me
I stand waiting, watching, listening

Enjoyment, laughter, sadness
Confusion
Despair

I’m inside, yet on the outside
I see but I do not understand
Where am I?

Clawing, anger, shivers
Soothing pain
Silence

Tell me where to go
I do not know
Darkness
I’m blind

Desperate
Who am I?
Follow the blind

Sadness, blame, shame
I’m broken
Shhh…

My heart shakes
Who do I serve?
Divided
Fall

Help me
I’m dying
Slowly

Whispers
Reaching
Comfort

Faith
Hope
Love

Love

1 Corinthians 13:8-13
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.

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote an article called “Obedience Follows Love.” I looked at an excerpt from John 14 which in summary said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command… Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me…He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” I closed with Paul’s challenge in 2 Corinthians 13 to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” How did that examination go? Today I’m looking at another passage related to love.

1 John 2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

OUCH! John has become a bit more blunt.

DEMONSTRATED LOVE is the key to determining if we are in Jesus Christ. It’s not a profession of faith such as “I know him,” it’s about following through with our actions. That’s why James said:

James 2:20-24
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

Did you see the correlation?

1 John 2
if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him
James 2
his faith was made complete by what he did

The viewpoint of most professing Christians is it ONLY takes basic belief in Jesus to be saved. Verses like John 3:16 that say, “…whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” are being used to support their viewpoint. So how does one know if a “professing belief” is a “genuine belief”?

These verses have been on my mind for a couple days. So many things come to my mind when I read this passage of scripture. I don’t have time right now to break it down and do an in-depth commentary. I’m just going to reflect on it. What I have to say may or may not make sense, but oh well…

John 14:15-24
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Raise your hand if you’re a hypocrite. I think we ALL can raise our hands. These verses will make any God fearing Christian squirm. If we’re not obeying Jesus’ commands, then our love for him is in question. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command… Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me…He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”

One cannot claim to love Jesus if one does not obey Jesus. Love and obedience go hand in hand. Our obedience in thought, word, and deed is how we can measure our love for Jesus. Take a minute to take Paul’s test in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”