Faith Keeps Love Warm

Faith Keeps Love Warm

Great gifts of the Spirit are listed in 1 Corinthians 13, and in all probability they are the greatest gifts there are. But then we read the following: If we do not have love, we are nothing. Then we can think like this: What is love? When people think of love they think in particular about feelings. It is difficult to separate love from infatuation. Infatuation is feelings, but love is faith. We read what love is: love is longsuffering. Longsuffering has to do with my relationship to other people. I have to be patient on account of myself so that I can overcome myself. Longsuffering has to do with other people, which means I have to bear with them, and the feelings I have when it is a question of being longsuffering are completely different from feeling infatuated. It is faith, and faith lays its life down. Those who do not believe draw back.

So then, love is longsuffering and kind; it does not envy. Those who do not have love become envious. What kind of feelings do they have then? We also speak about “bitter envy.” That is what Cain had when he killed Abel. Love does not become bitter. I do not feel infatuated when I am tempted to be bitter; I do not feel that I have love; not at all, but it is love that causes me not to become bitter. I need to take up my cross and deny myself. It is love alone that makes me valuable. Talents and gifts of the Spirit do not make me valuable, but if I have love, my gifts and talents can become valuable. They can even become very valuable.

We read in 1 John 4:7-8: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” This is a very important lesson. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” V. 10. This is love. In other words, it is very good if someone loves me and I love him in return, but that is not the evidence that I have love. When the other person does something bad to me, what do I do then? That is what manifests love. Jesus gave His life for us while we were enemies. Therefore we read: “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son.”

Love gives; it gives not only to those who are good. Not at all! It loves its enemies; it loves first. You are not an overcomer if you cannot manage this. No matter how difficult circumstances can be in this world, whether it is between married couples, between parents and children, between siblings, on the job site, or wherever it may be, you cannot bring any order into any of these situations unless you are in God. Everything is in disorder outside of God. Only if we are in God can matters be brought into order. We must remember that. Thorns and thistles began to grow when Adam lost contact with God, resulting in anxieties. I want to say this to all the young people: You must never imagine that you can gain any glory without God; it is impossible. You can get more money by lying; perhaps you can get much more money by cheating and defrauding, but you will not get this money without thistles and thorns and many anxieties. How much better it is to have little money without thorns and thistles and many worries. This is a mystery.

We read further: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” V. 11. Isn’t it true that it is difficult to connect an expression like “ought to” with love? Just try it, and you will see that it is very difficult to associate the word “ought” with love. The reason is that we are apt to think of infatuation. By way of example: A man falls in love, and it doesn’t occur to him that he “ought” to love the one with whom he has fallen in love, neither is it possible to force someone to fall in love with someone. It is a matter of feelings. But then we read that husbands ought to love their wives. Eph. 5:28. “Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.” Col. 3:19. Then infatuation has vanished. Then coldness and malice will appear if you do not have a connection with God. We are obligated to love one another. Thus the word “ought” produces faith. I can begin to be longsuffering and good by laying my life down. I cannot consider my personal welfare if I am to be longsuffering. Not at all! I have to give my life. That is godly, and then everything comes into order.