“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

This is one of the most well known passages of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The love in our text in the Greek is agape. To agape means to take pleasure in, and long for. So what is the believer to take pleasure in and long for? We are to take pleasure in the things that Christ takes pleasure in, and long for the things that Christ longs for.

For the believer to agape literally means preferring to live through Christ. To agape means actively doing what the Lord prefers. To agape means that Christ is living his life through the believer.

In a world that has hyper-emphasized personal preference, personal opinions, personal tastes, personal rights, this is a good corrective.

In a world that is as divided as our’s, this is a necessary corrective.

I want you to read the text again. Except this time, wherever the word love appears instead put yourself instead so that it reads:

• I am patient
• I am kind
• I am not envious
• I am not boastful
• I am not arrogant
• etc.

Take a moment to write out this passage in the above way on a piece of paper and make it your prayer for today.

It is my prayer we Christ-followers at the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace are known as agape people.

“But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!”
(Psalm 81:11-13)

What’s wrong with pursuing my career with all my heart, soul, and might instead of pursuing God with all my heart, soul, and might?

What’s so wrong with lust? It doesn’t hurt anyone.

Why does God even care about greed? Who’s it really hurting?

Why does God make such a big deal about sin? What’s the big deal with sin? As long as I am not killing someone or hurting someone, why should God care?

Why should God care? Hmmm.

There are multiple reasons why God cares so much about sin:

1. Sin destroys. Sin kills. Sin separates us from God’s will.
2. Because God wants to bless us. But sin makes God’s blessings impossible.
3. Sin is an abhorrence to God because it goes against everything God stands for.

We are badly mistaken when we think the punishment and the impact of sin begins at the final judgment. The punishment for sin begins the moment we sin. All the consequences of sin – the addictions, broken relationships, all the destruction, broken lives – this is where the punishment begins.

But punishment for sin doesn’t end there. Punishment becomes eternal as sin leads to eternal separation from God and to eternal damnation.

Why should God care about sin? Perhaps the question we ought to be asking is why don’t we take sin more seriously?

Boy, this reflection is a downer!

It can seem that way. But look at God’s heart: “O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!” (Psalms 81:13). God wants to bless us. God wants to shower his love and grace upon us. The pathway to God’s blessing is walking in his ways.

God wants us to live in his shalom, his peace. God absolutely loves us. God wants only what is best for us. God knows what is best for us even better than we do.

Listen to him.

Walk in his ways.

“For you repay to all according to their work” (Psalm 62:12b)

One of the biggest misunderstandings in our world is the idea that since we are mostly a good person, since my good deeds outweigh the bad, I should make it heaven. We seem to believe as long as our good deeds outweigh the bad on the scale of justice, we are good to go.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Sin doesn’t work like that. Becoming a sinner is not about doing more good than sinning. Becoming a sinner has to do with our being. Let me explain.

How would it fly if a husband were to say to his wife, “But honey, I only cheated on you a couple of times! Out of the thousands of days we’ve been married, I was always faithful. It was only a couple of times.”

How would that fly? What makes a person an adulterer is not about the balance of doing more good than bad. It only takes one time to make someone go from being faithful to being an adulterer.

Sin works like that. We become sinners when we sin. It only takes one act, one deed.

That’s why the Bible tells us we are all sinners.

So when sinners read a passage like this, this is absolutely one of the most frightening passages. Because when we stand before God in judgment, we’re all we’ve got. And there isn’t going to be a scale of justice to weigh the good from the bad to see which way the scale tips. We will stand before God as guilty sinners.

But for Christians this works very differently. You see, because of all that God has done for us through the cross of Jesus Christ, because Jesus paid our debt of sin, because Jesus absorbed the debt of sin on our behalf, we stand before God forgiven!

But what about our sins? Listen to what God says about our sins: “As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

Thank you Jesus! Thank you God!

Today, Christian, before you do anything else, remember your salvation. Remember your God. Remember you Savior and give thanks!

I want you to take a moment to express your gratitude to God as soon as you read this.

Thank you Jesus!!!