Labor of Love

"Many" preaching the "American Gospel" have become so focused on the spiritual gifts and the supposed "authority" they now have by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can see "many" being led astray into this apostasy just as Jesus warned would happen in the last days. ( Matthew 24:10 ) 

Last days, most commentators say, is the church era since the Ascension of Christ. The Corinthians in the first century were a doctrinal mess in just about every area of spiritual life in both theology and practice. 

Listen to what Paul writes to them in the midst of arguing over spiritual gifts, mainly speaking in tongues and prophecy, and explaining gifts are for building each other up and not everyone is given every gift: 

"And I will show you a still more excellent way. 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." ( 1 Corinthians 12:31, 13:1-3 ) 

And Paul doesn't stop there; he goes on to define love. So there's no question. 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." ( verses 4-8 ) 

As I'm reading this passage I'm thinking that there is no way in hades I can do this. It takes something way more powerful than me, never mind the spiritual gifts - this is a job for the Holy Spirit. I'm humbled to the core on this one. Often times when I come to a knowledge of the truth, I feel I must apply it to everyone with a sledge hammer. No one can love like this without the power of God! We are incapable. 

Love is important to get right because we see the spiritual gifts all cease, and the Scriptures don't teach us that God is faith or hope, but that "God is love." And that everyone born of God loves. ( 1 John 4:7-8 )  And that definition. Wow. 

When the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, granting us repentance and opening our hearts to believe and come to faith in Christ, the greatest love ever put on display, He stays with us forever. He doesn't go anywhere. Jesus said that when he asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us: "the Spirit of Truth to be with you forever." ( John 14:16 )

Becoming focused on a second helping or blessing of power to get spiritual gifts and operate in the supernatural, isn't just unbiblical, but ironically, it takes our eyes off of the true work of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. The beautiful rhythm that develops, not in signs and wonders, but in the ordinary means of grace enabling us to love others and walk after Him more and more, and in effect being light and salt for the world to witness. This is what it means to follow Jesus. 

One of my recent observations in the church is that God is still doing miracles and healing people -it's just not what we might think. It's not through big name word-faith healers or TV evangelists or celebrity pastors or supernatural ministry schools. 

It's in the ordinary lives of people like you and me, the common, every-day folk who are trusting God quietly in their lives, praying for their loved ones to be healed in their bodies, praying for the salvation of their neighbors, praying for strength to persevere through another day while clinging to Christ. 

It's in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, whom we are united with by the Holy Spirit into one Body, praying for patient endurance while suffering persecution under hostile governments and officials, in chains, in prison, being hounded and watched and harassed. Praying for the protection of their children in the midst of such distress. Can we imagine? It's easy over here in the West in all of this comfort and absurd, prosperity teaching to forget them. May it never be so. 

"Of whom the world is not worthy." 

And when God moves through the ordinary and humble circumstances of his people, through suffering and through the mundane, God gets all of the glory. 

Not any man or woman. 

And those who did and didn't receive the promise in this life are both commended for their faith. ( Hebrews 11:39-40  ) No child of God in either group is admonished by our Heavenly Father for not having enough faith. They are both commended for their labors even though they didn't live to see the promise fulfilled. 

Are you going to listen to a wolf in sheep's clothing or the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul? 

Think about that this Labor Day. We are laboring together in the Body, but it is a labor of love, something that takes the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish in our lives through his supernatural ability and not ours. We don't have what it takes to love people as the Bible spells out, but praise God, he does. When we love others that is God the Holy Spirit lovingly laboring through us and in us, doing something we could never do on our own. "Now, that's truly supernatural," Mr. Sid Roth.  

We want the Holy Spirit to give gifts and do signs and wonders and great miracles, but do we faithfully pray and petition him to please love others through us? That we are desperate for him to give us this power to love so the world will know that we are his disciples? I know I'm desperate for that help. Maybe that's the first step: recognize our need. 

"Faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

"Love never ends." 

"God is Love." 

Happy Labor Day!