1 Corinthians 13

The Consecrated Way – Part VII (Charity)

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Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” 2 Peter 1:5–7. The margin of many Bibles, tells us that the word meaning love is translated as charity.

We have been climbing Peter’s ladder, and we find ourselves now at the top rung. Some of the rungs along the way can be kind of slippery, we have found. They are evasive; we just cannot quite get a hold on them. But through perseverance to which God has called us, we can climb the ladder.

There are seven rungs in Peter’s ladder. With the ladder resting on the foundation of faith, we lift our foot up to the first rung of virtue,
and we begin to climb. This is not a casual climb. Jesus calls it the narrow way, which means that it is uphill; it is a difficult climb.

Although Peter’s ladder is a narrow ladder, not a broad ladder, it has a sure destination. When we reach the final rung in the ladder, we, with God’s help, have completed the climb to perfection.

Agape

Charity, the word that is translated here, is from the word agape. In the seventies and sixties, we heard a lot about agape almost to excess. It was almost to the point that people, when they heard the word agape, would shy away from it; they did not want to hear any more about agape. Even though we may feel burned out, it is something that we need to hear. It is essential for us. The word agape used in the New Testament reveals the different attitudes of God—the attitude toward His Son, His attitude toward the human race generally, and His attitude toward those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ particularly.

The word is also used to convey His will to His children concerning their attitude toward one another. Charity or love is an abstract, and the only way that we can define such a term is in the way it is performed or acted out. It is an emotion, and an emotion cannot be defined except as expression is given to it. Once it is expressed, then we can identify it.

Defined in Actions

1 Corinthians 13 tries to define agape. It gives a lot of illustrations concerning it, because it is only as it is acted out that we really understand this word charity or love. God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son. But this act of love is not the result of complacency or affection. It is not drawn out by any favoritism. It is an exercise of the divine will in a deliberate choice.

I do not believe for a moment that God enjoyed giving His Son to die. It was a deliberate choice, because there was a need. Love rises above the emotional feeling of making a decision based upon whether we like something or not. It is a matter of getting above that, seeing the need, and then making the choice to supply that need.

That is where God is. God rose above what He would have preferred, because He saw a need. When Jesus was here on this earth, He gave to us a perfect example of this kind of love. We still stand in awe wondering how it can be fulfilled in us. “Love your enemies,” Jesus instructed. (See Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35.) “No, Lord, I am not going to love my enemies. I hate them; I cannot stand them.” That is why they are enemies. Jesus loved His enemies.

Do good to those who despitefully use you. (See Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28.) What was it that prompted Jesus to do good to those who despitefully used Him? Agape love. A deliberate choice, a choice that raised Him above every level of every other human being that ever walked the face of the earth. Jesus was never beholden to who He was humanly. He was beholden to what was right and true. If He had been beholden to who He was, He was a Jew. And Jews had a culture that did not like other people, especially the Gentiles. They hated them. Jesus rose above that and made deliberate choices contrary to every cultural line that ever existed. He displayed love to them in how He treated them and what He did for them.

He demonstrated the reality of i Corinthians 13. We wonder how such platitudes can ever be fulfilled in our lives. Can they? Absolutely, they can! “Love is patient, love is kind, [and] is not jealous; love does not brag [and] is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong [suffered], does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails . . . .”

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 NASB.

View From the Top

God’s law is love. (See Romans 13:8, 10.) God’s law will never fail and crumble, but the law of God will stand forever. Why? Because it is based on agape love. As we have been climbing the ladder of Christian character development, we find love is at the top. From the vantage point of the top rung, we are able to see from a heavenly viewpoint, if you please.

Did you ever place a ladder on the side of a building and start climbing it to try to see what is beyond? All you can see, as you are climbing, is the wall that you are climbing against. Your view is hindered; you are not able to see. But when you reach the top, then you are able to look around with a view and a vision that you cannot see as you are climbing.

This is what God wants for us. He wants us to climb the ladder. He wants us to always look up as we are climbing, not down. It is said that if you look down while you are climbing, you will get scared. Always look up! Once you reach the heavenly perspective of God’s love and you begin to see everything in that light, your life will be changed forever.

It is from this viewpoint that things concerning Christianity really begin to come into focus, because now we are able to see, not from our viewpoint, but from God’s viewpoint. We have been hindered all along the climb, because we have tried to see things from our viewpoint but never from God’s viewpoint. That is why we have the difficulties and the problems and the strifes and the troubles that we do, because we have never looked from God’s viewpoint.

Powerful Force

Love is the greatest and most powerful force in all the world. When all else fails, love will win, for God is love. (See 1 John 4:8, 16.) I want to share with you a quotation from The Acts of the Apostles that brings into focus where God would have us to be as a church: “The church is God’s appointed agency for the salvation of men.” Ibid., 9.

Now how is that going to work? Is it going to work because we have the best mechanics, the best organization, the best logistical set-up so that programs and plans can be executed to get out the word? All those things are necessary, of course, but they are subservient to something else.

Mrs. White continues: “It [the church] was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God’s plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory.” Ibid. Who are the members of the church? That is us! We may not have our names on a book, but if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are a member of His church.

Is the picture coming into focus at all yet? I hope so. “The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to ‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God. Ephesians 3:10.” Ibid.

God has a plan for every one of us. He wants each one of us to display to “‘the principalities and powers in heavenly places,’ the final and full display of the love of God.” He wants you to climb that ladder to the top rung, to step up on that rung, and to look and see what is out there. Then reveal the great, grand, glorious plan of God that has been interrupted by this reign of sin. God wants us to have a part in that.

Stand in Amazement

A father took his son up to the top of a high hill one day, trying to teach his son to appreciate the great, grand creation that God had created. He told his little son to look to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south as far as his eyes could see. Then he said to him, “Son, as far as you can see, that is as far as the love of God.”

The little boy, after gazing off into the distance in each direction, replied to his father, “Daddy, if God’s love is to the east and to the west and to the north and to the south as far as we can see, then we must be standing right in the middle of it!”

How true it is. There is no better place than to be right in the middle of God’s love. For that to happen, we have to know, to appreciate, and to want His love to be a part of our lives. Man hates; God loves. Man wounds, but God heals. Man destroys, but God builds up. His love is different; it is a love that we really do not deserve. That is why John tells us in 1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love . . . .”

This word, behold, means to stand in amazement, in awe. There was no one who could stand more in amazement of the love of God than John, as he was known as a son of thunder, one who was a rabble-rouser. When that revelation of love came to John, he dropped everything and followed Jesus. He followed so completely that the night of the last supper he laid his head on Jesus’ breast. He was called The Beloved.

John knew what that love was all about. He took his responsibility very seriously and tried to convey that love when things began to unravel and fray within the church of God because they were living too worldly. Some had climbed the ladder a few rungs and decided that it required too much effort, or they were fearful of heights, so they came back down. They began to scrap around with one another, to entertain all kinds of false theologies.

John also wrote John 3:16: “God so loved the world . . . .” God did not consider Himself. God did not consider what it would cost Him. “God so loved.” As human beings we consider each issue as to whether or not it is going to cost us something.

We ask what the cost will be to us if we get involved—time, energy, emotion? If it is a drain, then we may not be interested. Let me tell you something. It was a drain on heaven for Jesus to come and to take human form. But God did not let that stop Him, because the principle of His love was so far above ours. He saw a need. He made a choice. In order to experience the fullness of God, we must experience in our own hearts His great love—the love that is as broad as the earth; the love that completely encircles the world; the love that reaches the lowest sinner.

The devil loves to remind us of our past. He loves to bring it up and to haunt us with it to the point of despair, so that we feel there is no hope for us, that God’s love is not enough to save us for the kingdom of heaven. We may think we have gone too far; we have done too much; we have been too bad, or that God’s love, centered in righteousness, cannot include us.

All God wants is for us to experience His wonderful love in our hearts. It has such a transforming power that it can change us, and it can bury our past. That is God’s desires for a people who will give the final display to the principalities and powers.

Think no Evil

“If we keep uppermost in our minds the unkind and unjust acts of others we shall find it impossible to love them as Christ has loved us; but if our thoughts dwell upon the wondrous love and pity of Christ for us, the same spirit will flow out to others. We should love and respect one another, notwithstanding the faults and imperfections that we cannot help seeing.” Steps to Christ, 121.

Do you have imperfections? I do. But by God’s grace, I am climbing the ladder. I would hope that in my own experience, as I am climbing Peter’s ladder, that I do not look at you and see only your imperfections. What God commands me to see in you is perfection through Christ.

There have been multitudes of people who have stopped climbing, after they have started up the ladder with Christ, because someone was there to point out their faults to them. Do you think that they were not aware of their faults? Oh, let me tell you, a lot of folks wear their faults on their sleeve, and they are very sensitive to their own character imperfections. They do not need to be reminded. What they need to be is encouraged.

That is what God’s love does for us. It encourages us so that we can help others to rise above those principalities and powers that are trying to draw them down. If we are reading 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, this is going to happen in our experience. It says in verse 5 that love thinks no evil.

Christ-like love places the most favorable construction on the motives and acts of others. That is what God’s love does for us. That will be our experience when we reach the top rung of the ladder. God’s love places us in the most favorable position possible before the entire universe.

Our sins God could hold up before the universe like laundry on a line, but the blood of Jesus washes our sins away, and the universe does not see them. What they see is what Jesus has done for us. They see His righteousness, His perfection. And so the love of God when it is truly operating in our hearts, is going to place everything in its most favorable position.

Love does not expose a person’s faults needlessly. Love does not listen eagerly to an unfavorable report, but rather tries to bring to mind the good qualities of others. And this is the attitude in the heart and mind of the Christian, which will usher him into and through the gates into the kingdom of heaven.

Perfection of Love

Who is greater than God? Nobody, no thing, nothing. This is because God is the ultimate in perfection of love. As we climb the ladder, claiming the divine promises, we become partakers of the divine nature. And the divine nature is a nature that always extends the hand of forgiveness. It erases all evil thoughts that we might have against our fellowmen.

God’s love will silence every gun that roars in war. It will cause us to pray, “Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Love has the ability to stop quarrels in the church and in the home. By God’s grace, those in contention are shown what God’s plan is and are told about His love, so their hatred may be turned to love.

It is not something that is human. It is human to hate. It is godly to love. Our sins killed Jesus. And from a human standpoint, humanly speaking, we would hate the one who destroyed our offspring. But not so with God. “God so loved . . . that he gave,” that we might be redeemed.

Gift of Love

In the days of Cromwell (1599–1658 a.d.), a soldier was condemned to be executed. The time for his execution was set to take place when the evening curfew bell was rung. The soldier was engaged to be married to a beautiful, young lady. She went to Cromwell to plead for the life of the one that she loved more than anything else. But her words were in vain. So she went to the judge who had sentenced him, only to find the same, cold response.

The preparations were made for the execution to be carried out when the evening bell tolled. Everyone waited expectantly to hear the clang. The bell ringer, who was old and deaf, that evening made his way to the bell tower and grabbed the rope in his hand to toll the bell. As he pulled on the rope, there was no sound, but being deaf, he did not know. So he continued pulling the rope as he did each evening.

You see, the young lady had climbed the belfry stairs before the old man arrived, caught the clapper of the big bell in her hands, and held on, at the risk of her own life, as he pulled the rope. And so the bell did not ring.

When the young lady came down from the tower, wounded and bleeding, Cromwell was standing there demanding to know why the bell had not rung. She stepped forward and told her story again. She showed him her hands, bruised and torn; her sweet young face haggard with the pain and anguish. Cromwell was overwhelmed with a sense of pity, and his eyes moistened. He said to her, “Go, your lover lives. Curfew shall not ring tonight.”

Dear friends, when we were condemned to die, Christ’s great love compelled Him to intervene on our behalf. The Bible says “He [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: . . . and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. All heaven now expects each one of us, when we behold this wonderful love, to respond to it with all our heart. God’s love, as it is revealed in His Son, will be found in the lives of His followers. They will do as He has done. They will follow His example, because He has made it all possible. Do not ever say that you cannot do it. Christ’s death on Calvary assures you that you can.

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know [them], and be established in the present truth.” 2 Peter 1:4–12.

Becoming Like Jesus

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Many people lose their physical lives because they believe a lie. Years ago, it was not uncommon for physicians to advise patients with a sore throat or chronic bronchitis that they should smoke. It was thought that smoking would be like breathing in steam, that it would warm up the lungs and help clear up the bronchitis or whatever the related ailment was. Physicians used to prescribe cigarettes and other tobacco products, and people died because they believed a lie. The physicians did not intentionally lie—it was not a malicious lie, but it was a non-truth. People are lost for believing a lie.

Need to Know Truth

We need to know the truth. God has told us and promised us that He will guide us into all truth. (John 16:13.) That is a very important promise, because the Bible says that in the last days there will be every wind of doctrine blowing. (Ephesians 4:14.) What makes it especially critical is that God wants to guide us into a fuller understanding of Bible truth than we now have. So, we cannot just overthrow everything that we do not understand and say that since we have never seen something a certain way before we will not listen to new or different understandings. We cannot do that. Yet we cannot just run off after every tangent that comes along. Nevertheless, as the Holy Spirit leads us, we need to be willing to investigate new truth. We must do it carefully and prayerfully, because it is very, very easy to be deceived.

When we are investigating something, we need to read the whole context. If it is quoting from the Bible, read from where it is quoted—read the entire chapter and the surrounding chapters. Many people quote a certain aspect from the Bible, but they only quote a little phrase or sentence, and by taking that one thought out of context, sometimes they change the whole meaning of it.

Purpose of Study

Truth is very important. It is vital to salvation. But as important as that may be, that is not the most important thing we can study in our daily devotions. The thing that must happen in our devotional lives with the Lord is to become like Jesus!

It does not matter what truth we may know; if we are not like Jesus, we have not accomplished anything. In our devotional lives, we must have our characters changed. That is why in our devotions it is important to spend some time every day in studying about Jesus. We may not be learning all kinds of wonderful theology in studying about Jesus, but we will be becoming like Him. We need to, as well, find time to study Daniel and Revelation and Malachi and Zechariah and Isaiah—all of these wonderful books—but we find Jesus scattered all through all these books. We must spend some time every day in just looking at the life of Jesus, trying to meditate on His character, and asking Jesus to make us like Him. That is the most important thing that can happen.

It is much more important to be able to live a Christian life than to preach a good sermon. When we live Christian lives, lives like Jesus, then God is going to pour out His Holy Spirit upon us.

When Jesus was here, He preached all kinds of wonderful sermons, but the Holy Spirit was never poured out. But when the disciples got together at Pentecost, and spent time in prayer and put away their sins and became like Jesus, then the Holy Spirit came. There is a place for sermons, and there is a place for evangelistic meetings, but the first thing that must happen in our lives every day is that we must look at Jesus and try to become like Him.

Why Jesus Came

Jesus came down to this earth to teach us new truth, but the biggest reason Jesus came down to this earth was to show us the love of God, to demonstrate a Christian life. When we read the Bible stories from the gospels, we read some of the sermons that Jesus gave. Matthew records quite a few sermons. John records some of His teaching. What most of the gospel writers recorded, however, are not so much His sermons as His life. It was Jesus’ life that shows us the love of God.

Consider Jesus on the cross. Why is it that so much of the Bible is written about Jesus’ experience on the cross? There was no sermon there at all, was there? God’s love was demonstrated there. It showed that God loved us enough that He was willing to send His own Son to die for us. That is the same kind of love we must have. When we have that love, then we will have the same kind of power that Jesus had.

Secret of Witnessing

Surely you, like I, have been impressed with various mission stories. I love mission stories! Sometimes I have heard stories of people who have gone out and witnessed who had not been trained for public speaking, who did not have very many skills, but the Holy Spirit led them to souls, and because the Holy Spirit was working through them, the people were converted. I have watched people that I have thought really did not do a very good job at preaching or giving Bible studies, but they had a Christian character, and the Lord used these people to win souls. The greatest thing we need is not more truth. We need truth, but the greatest thing we need is to be more like Jesus, to have His character.

Dwell in the Midst

In Exodus 25:8, it mentions how God asked the children of Israel to make Him a sanctuary that He might dwell among them. The sanctuary was put right in the middle of the camp of the children of Israel, so every day when they got up, wherever they were, they could see the sanctuary. John tells us that that sanctuary was a type of Jesus. John 1:14, in some translations, says, “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” That is the way the Revised Version translates it, and that is the translation Ellen White often used for that verse—“The Word became flesh and tabernacled,” referring back to the tabernacle of the children of Israel that was put right in the middle of the camp. Jesus came and dwelt among us. Instead of a tabernacle of goat’s skin, Jesus came and dwelt in our midst, so God might dwell among us and we might see what God is all about.

In the first few verses of John 1, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” What happened to that Word? It came down to this earth and dwelt among us so that we might observe and see what God is really like, so we might become like God in character.

Hebrews 1 begins almost the same as does the Book of John. In verse 3, speaking of Jesus, it says, “Who being the brightness of [His] glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Jesus was the express image of the Father. He came to earth in the brightness of His Father’s glory. What was that glory when Jesus came down? Did people have to hide their eyes because He was so bright they could not look at Him, like Moses was when he came down from the mountain? Moses was a type of Jesus, but that was only the type. When the real brightness came, it was a totally different kind of brightness than a literal brightness. The Old Testament always shows something literal, and the New Testament always shows what was literal in the Old Testament in a spiritual sense. In the Old Testament, when Moses, who was a type or a figure of Christ, came down from the mount, his face was radiant with glory, so the people could not even look at him. In the New Testament, Jesus came down from heaven, and He was radiant with glory but with spiritual glory instead of a literal glory—spiritual brightness instead of a literal brightness.

What was the brightness that lighted up the face of Jesus? Paul tells us in 11 Corinthians 4:4, 6: “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” What is that glory? “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” It is God’s character that is revealed in Jesus. What was that character, in 1 John 4:8? “God is love.” That character was revealed through Jesus Christ.

Love Revealed

Somehow we, day by day, must develop the character of love that Jesus had. We must show love—love to our husbands and wives, to our children, to our parents, to church members, to our neighbors, to one another. Things do not always go in a way that makes us want to be loving. It is when things go wrong that love is really revealed. Love is not revealed when everything is going right. That is how Jesus revealed His love.

Where did Jesus really reveal the most love? Was it when He was sitting down at dinner with Mary and Martha and enjoying a good meal, or was it on the cross when people were spitting in His face and hammering the nails in His hands? Where was the love shown the most? He had the same love both places, but we did not see all of it until He was put on the cross. His love was there with Mary and Martha, too, and we could see that it was there, but the worse the situation became, the more the love was revealed.

Ellen White wrote about Jesus: “The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; force or authority cannot win it. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan.” The Desire of Ages, 22.

“Only by love is love awakened.” If we are going to have a church that will exemplify the character of God, that is, the character of love, how are we going to become that way? Is it by the board deciding that it is going to be that way and making a rule that we are all going to be loving from now on? How about a sermon? Could that do it? The only way that the church can become loving is by individual members becoming like Jesus and demonstrating that love to others.

Character Development

The only way God’s love can be demonstrated is for God to allow Satan to bring a certain amount of hardship and trouble into our lives—not because He wants us to suffer anything but so our characters can be developed and we can demonstrate that God is living in our lives. One thing about the trials that God sends us or even the ones He allows Satan to send us, He always brings us through. We never lose anything when we are all done. We only gain. In fact, the Bible says that “everything works together for good to those who love God.” Romans 8:28. We never lose anything, if we remain true.

Every test that comes our way does one of two things: it either makes us more like God, or it makes us more unlike God. We either turn away from Him, or we turn towards Him. We cannot stay neutral when trials and tests come. So it is that if we are really going to demonstrate the love of God, very likely God will allow certain trials and troubles to come into our lives to develop our characters so we can demonstrate His love. That is one reason why, after Jesus talked about trials and troubles and persecutions and revilings and all those things in the Beatitudes, He said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” Matthew 5:10, 11.

Verse 16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” You see, it is when people say unkind things about us that we have a chance to let our lights shine and that we can demonstrate the love of God.

Developing Love

None of us, of course, have the love of Jesus by nature, do we? Neither can we develop it on our own. That is why we must spend time with Jesus every day in prayer and Bible study. Remember, the most important aspect of prayer and Bible study is not to learn truth but to become like Jesus.

If we are just trying to rush through a book and we have a certain schedule to follow to finish it, and when we get done, we check that book off the list—have our characters changed much? How much better it would be to read half as much and to kneel down and really ask Jesus to make us like what we are reading, to spend time thinking about it, and to become like what it says, letting our lives be changed.

Ellen White said, “The Lord desires me to call the attention of His people to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Read this chapter every day, and from it obtain comfort and strength. Learn from it the value that God places on sanctified, heaven-born love, and let the lesson that it teaches come home to your hearts. Learn that Christlike love is of heavenly birth, and that without it all other qualifications are worthless.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1904. Read that chapter not to learn some great new thing but to look at Jesus’ love. What is love? What is it that God wants us to become?

The Love Chapter

This is a chapter that probably describes Jesus’ character better than any other chapter in the Bible. It is a chapter that describes what we are to become. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Verse 1. This is really speaking to preachers or Sabbath School teachers or evangelists. We can have silver tongues; we can speak like angels; we can be the greatest orators in the entire world; but if we do not have love, what good is it going to do? It is worthless.

“And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge . . .” Do you see why I said that learning truth is not the most important thing? Paul says we can know all the truth in the world; we can have even the gift of prophecy; and we can understand all the mysteries and all the knowledge and even have all faith so that we could remove mountains; but if we do not have love, we are nothing. Verse 2.

A Balance

We do not have to make these two things exclusive. We can still learn a little knowledge while we are getting a little love. I am not saying we should not try to get a little knowledge along the way. We ought to know the Bible. That is very important, but the first thing is love.

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Verse 3. Nothing in the Bible is written without truth, and no illustrations are given without merit. Do you suppose that there could have been people who gave their bodies to be burned or eaten by the lions that really were not totally converted? Ellen White wrote, “We may obtain a knowledge of the truth and read its most hidden mysteries, and even give our bodies to be burned for its sake; yet if we have not love and charity, we are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 133.

What Love Is

Then Paul tells us what love is: “Love suffers long [and] is kind.” It does not say that love just suffers a little while—it will suffer and suffer. People saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing or misunderstanding—that will continue. Life goes on. As long as life lasts, it will continue to manifest love no matter what the situation may be. And it is kind. That little four-letter word kind is such a nice little word. It is nice when people are kind to one another.

“Love does not envy.” Now that is a tall order! It is so easy to envy—especially when you think you are better than the other person is, but the other person is getting all the attention. That is what Satan did in heaven; he envied Jesus; he thought he could do a better job than Jesus. “Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.” Verses 4, 5.

“[Love] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” Verse 6. That really cuts right across gossip! Times do come when we need to know about certain situations. We need to be warned, but just plain rejoicing, just cannot wait until somebody stumbles or somebody does something so we can report it, is wrong.

Demonstrate His Love

“Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is] knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Verses 7–13.

What Paul is saying in these last few verses is this: All the prophecy we know of is just dimly understood. We do not really understand prophecy very much. We understand a little bit. We do not even know ourselves. We do not know one another very well. Just dimly do we really understand each other. We do not really read the hearts of one another. But there is one thing that we can demonstrate, regardless, and that we can have. We may not be able to have perfect faith or perfect hope or perfect knowledge, but we can become like Jesus in character, and we can demonstrate His love. That is what God wants in the church today. He wants the church to demonstrate the love and the character of Jesus.

It is interesting that 1 John, the book that talks about how Jesus came down to earth and lived, ends with what it is that God is like. “God is love.” That is what we are to become—like God—and God is love. How is it that we can develop this kind of character? It is not something that happens overnight. We can gain knowledge much quicker than we can gain character. It takes time to develop character. That is why God gives us a time to live. We need to use every moment we have to be developing that character. Every time a trial comes our way, we need to realize that this is a chance to develop the character that God wants us to have. We will miss all those opportunities, however, unless God is helping us.

The Fruit of Love

Jesus said, in John 15:1, 2, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away.” What is the fruit? One part of the fruit is winning other souls, but that is not all of the fruit. What is the fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering. (Galatians 5:22.) As we study John 15, we see that Jesus is talking about the fruit of the Spirit as well as the fruit of other souls. First and foremost, He is talking about the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our character.

Verses 12 and 13 tell us the fruit with which He is especially concerned: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Throughout the chapters of John, Jesus talks about the fruit of our characters, the fruit of love especially. In chapter 13, He said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Verse 35.

Every branch that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2.) “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Verses 3, 4. Think of the one fruit that He is really addressing here. He is addressing all the fruit, of course, but consider the one He comments upon later, the fruit of love. Insert that in these verses and read it to get the full import. We could insert other fruits of the Spirit, too, but we will just use love.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear love He takes away; and every [branch] that bears love He prunes, that it may bear more love.” Pruning means to cut or take away unnecessary things—those extras that we do not really need, but we think we need, that God sometimes takes away. He may take it out of our checkbook or He may take it out of our time. We may have our day all planned, and God takes away some of that time for something else—our day may get pruned.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear love of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much love; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw [them] into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much love; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love.” Verses 4–9. Is He talking about love?

To the Point

He comes right down to the point at the end. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and [that] your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Verses 10–12.

More than anything else, I want to see all of God’s people perfectly demonstrate the love of God towards one another. When we have that, we will have joy, Jesus said, and we will have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot have it of ourselves. We can only have it as we abide in Jesus day by day. Our daily devotions are especially for the purpose of our becoming more like Jesus.

Yes, we need to study and understand Daniel and Revelation. We need to study Isaiah and Deuteronomy and Leviticus as well as the other books of the Bible, but we need to make the first part of our study specifically something that will help us to become more loving like Jesus. Study about the life of Jesus.

Ellen White says, “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.” The Desire of Ages, 83.

Pastor Marshall J. Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.

1 Corinthians 12 and 13, Part I

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To the believers in Corinth, the apostle Paul delivered some of the most definitive and eloquent illustrations and instructions regarding relationships with one another. Beginning in chapter 12 of his first letter and continuing on through chapter 13, he clearly describes what must be for there to be unity and harmony among believers in the church.

These chapters are so important that we have been counseled to memorize them.

“The twelfth and thirteenth chapters of 1 Corinthians should be committed to memory, written in the mind and heart. Through His servant Paul, the Lord has placed before us these subjects for our consideration, and those who have the privilege of being brought together in church capacity will be united, understandingly and intelligently. The figure of the members which compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another.” Sermons and Talks, Book 2, 119, 120.

Different Gifts and Functions

In 1 Corinthians 12, the diversities of spiritual gifts given to the church are to help it become ready for the kingdom. They are to unite the church. After addressing spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul discusses how these gifts work together in the body. “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.” “For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body?” 1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, 15.

The Church is compared to the physical body. One lesson we can learn from this representation is that all parts of the body do not do the same thing, but all parts of the body work together for the benefit and blessing of the entire body. Paul illustrates this by asking a rhetorical question, “If the whole body [were] an eye, where [would be] the hearing? If the whole [were] hearing, where [would be] the smelling?” 1 Corinthians 12:17. As each part of the body has different functions, so each member of the church has different gifts or functions. Thus the whole is blessed by a diversity providing a unity that is far more powerful.

“The vine has many branches, but though all the branches are different, they do not quarrel. In diversity there is unity. All the branches obtain their nourishment from one source. This is an illustration of the unity that is to exist among Christ’s followers. In their different lines of work they all have but one Head. The same Spirit, in different ways, works through them. There is harmonious action, though the gifts differ. Study this chapter. You will see from it that the man who is truly united with Christ will never act as though he were a complete whole in himself. . . .

“The perfection of the church depends not on each member being fashioned exactly alike. God calls for each one to take his proper place, to stand in his lot to do his appointed work according to the ability which has been given him (Letter 19, 1901).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1090.

Another lesson to be learned from the body representing the church is that just as the hand without the rest of the body is not much good, so one member working without the rest of the church is not much good. For the church to work as God would have it, each must fulfill a part. You may think that you cannot do very much, but every part has a necessary function. “By a comparison of the church with the human body, the apostle aptly illustrated the close and harmonious relationship that should exist among all members of the church of Christ.” The Acts of the Apostles, 317.

Notice something very significant about these gifts. They are given so that the body may work as a whole, not as individual parts. “God’s servants are to work together, blending in kindly, courteous order, ‘in honor preferring one another.’ Romans 12:10. There is to be no unkind criticism, no pulling to pieces of another’s work; and there are to be no separate parties. Every man to whom the Lord has entrusted a message has his specific work. Each one has an individuality of his own, which he is not to sink in that of any other man. Yet each is to work in harmony with his brethren. In their service God’s workers are to be essentially one. No one is to set himself up as a criterion, speaking disrespectfully of his fellow workers or treating them as inferior. Under God each is to do his appointed work, respected, loved, and encouraged by the other laborers. Together they are to carry the work forward to completion.” Ibid., 275, 276.

Care for One Another

Continuing on in 1 Corinthians 12:25, 26: “That there should be no schism in the body, but [that] the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with [it]; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with [it].” From these verses, we notice that the body feels for (cares for) other members of the body. I should not be biting and devouring any part of the body of Christ, but I should be working together with the body to keep it alive by caring for it. In this life, no one in his right mind cuts off part of his body or bites it. Just so, I should treat the spiritual body with love and concern.

In Romans 12:10–16, several specific graces of the spirit are identified. We are to be of one mind, kindly affectionate, esteem others better than ourselves, and give preference to them. “In the Lord’s plan human beings have been made necessary to one another. To every one God has entrusted talents, to be used in helping others to walk in the path of right. It is by unselfish service for others that we improve and increase our talents.

“Like the different parts of a machine, all are closely related to one another, and all dependent upon one great Center. There is to be unity in diversity. No member of the Lord’s firm can work successfully in independence. Each is to work under the supervision of God; all are to use their entrusted capabilities in His service, that each may minister to the perfection of the whole. . . .

“He who claims to be a Christian should examine himself and see if he is as kind and considerate of his fellow beings as he desires his fellow beings to be of him. . . . Christ taught that rank or wealth should make no difference in our treatment of one another and that in the light of heaven all are brethren. Earthly possessions or worldly honor do not count in God’s valuation of man. He created all men equal; He is no respecter of persons. He values a man according to the virtue of his character.” In Heavenly Places, 287.

Christian Love

Concluding 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul pleads, “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.” What is the “more excellent way”? It is Christian love, which we all must have. Love is one of the key ingredients for the body to stay together.

“The Lord desires me to call the attention of His people to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Read this chapter every day, and from it obtain comfort and strength. Learn from it the value that God places on sanctified, heaven-born love, and let the lesson that it teaches come home to your hearts. Learn that Christlike love is of heavenly birth, and that without it all other qualifications are worthless.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1904.

The invitation contained in this short paragraph is to read, meditate, and learn of heavenly love. If we do not understand the value God places on heavenly love, all other qualifications, however wonderful they may be, are worthless. It is vital for all to become interested in 1 Corinthians 13 and to study what true love really is, for this is the kind of love that God wants His followers to possess. “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35. The world must see that the followers of Christ have His love in their lives.

“In the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians the apostle Paul defines true, Christlike love. It would be well to print this chapter in small type in every paper issued from our presses. Put it in the Gospel Herald that it may preach its living sermon wherever the paper may go. This chapter is an expression of the obedience of all who love God and keep His commandments. It is brought into action in the life of every true believer.” The Gospel Herald, January 1, 1901.

Study of Heavenly Love

We can begin a study of heavenly love in the first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become [as] sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

These verses tell us that we can do a variety of “good” things, but if we fail to do them for the right reason, which is love, they are worthless. What matters is the motive as to why I am doing the things that I do. Is it because I love God and my neighbor as myself? Having eloquent speech, understanding mysteries, obtaining knowledge, or giving to the poor are all commendable, but without love from a pure heart, what good are they? “The attribute that Christ appreciates most in man is charity (love) out of a pure heart. This is the fruit borne upon the Christian tree (MS 16, 1892).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1091.

Practical Description

The apostle Paul continues his instruction in a practical description of heavenly love in verses 4–8: “Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up [arrogant]; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is] knowledge, it will vanish away.”

From these verses we see that love is a very complex attribute that has nothing to do with selfishness. Love is always thinking of the other person. This kind of love is tough; it does not fail when put through the stress and strain of life. If each one possessed this kind of love, it would be wonderful to be around him or her. All too often we experience the opposite, as individuals become irritated, impatient, or proud. “Love is a plant of heavenly origin, and if we would have it flourish in our hearts, we must cultivate it daily. Mildness, gentleness, long suffering, not being easily provoked, bearing all things, enduring all things,—these are the fruits upon the precious tree of love.” Review and Herald, June 5, 1888.

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love.” These verses, in 1 Corinthians 13:9–13, conclude the picture of heavenly love that Paul paints in simple, yet eloquent language.

Cultivate This Love

We must cultivate this love, and it must be shown to those around us—especially to those in our families and within the “household of faith.” Galatians 6:10. It is a serious concern that we, as God’s professed people, are sadly lacking in this heavenly love. We do not demonstrate the care that we should have for one another. Instead, we are splitting up and biting and devouring one another. But heavenly love does not cover sin. Instead, it hates the sin and loves the sinner. If I really love God, I will demonstrate this heavenly love to all with whom I associate, in the home, at the work place, or in the household of faith.

“Let us bring into the daily experience the instruction contained in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Believers must bring into their lives a stronger love for one another, a growing interest in one another.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 143.

“O that there might be seen among our people a deep and thorough work of repentance and reformation! O that they would fall on the Rock, and be broken! Let us crucify self, that in our hearts may grow up a strong love for Christ and for one another. Let us bring into the daily experience the instruction contained in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Self must be surrendered to God before there can take possession of the life that strong, steady belief in the truth that is broad and comprehensive; that casts out from the heart all enmity, all petty differences, and transforms coldness into Christlike affection.

“Why should not believers love one another? It is impossible to love Christ, and at the same time act discourteously toward one another. It is impossible to have the Christ-love in the heart, and at the same time draw apart from one another, showing no love or sympathy. The deeper our love for Christ, the deeper will be our love for one another.” Review and Herald, February 24, 1903.

Heaven Begins on Earth

“To possess true godliness means to love one another, to help one another, to make apparent the religion of Jesus in our lives. We are to be consecrated channels through which the love of Christ flows to those who need help. . . . He who approaches nearest to obedience to the divine law will be of the most service to God. He who follows Christ, reaching out after His goodness, His compassion, His love for the human family, will be accepted by God as a worker together with Him. . . .

“When the Lord’s people are filled with meekness and tenderness for one another, they will realize that His banner over them is love and His fruit will be sweet to their taste. Heaven will begin on earth. They will make a heaven below in which to prepare for heaven above.” In Heavenly Places, 287.

Did you get that? Heaven will begin on earth when the Lord’s people are filled with meekness and tenderness for one another. God has made it necessary for us to work with one another.

Union is Strength

“Union is strength, and the Lord desires that this truth should be ever revealed in all the members of the body of Christ. All are to be united in love, in meekness, in lowliness of mind. Organized into a society of believers for the purpose of combining and diffusing their influence, they are to work as Christ worked. They are ever to show courtesy and respect for one another. Every talent has its place and is to be kept under the control of the Holy Spirit.

“The church is a Christian society formed for the members composing it, that each member may enjoy the assistance of all the graces and talents of the other members, and the working of God upon them, according to their several gifts and abilities. The church is united in the holy bonds of fellowship in order that each member may be benefited by the influence of the other. All are to bind themselves to the covenant of love and harmony. The Christian principles and graces of the whole society of believers are to gather strength and force in harmonious action. Each believer is to be benefited and improved by the refining and transforming influence of the varied capabilities of the other members, that the things lacking in one may be more abundantly displayed in another. All the members are to draw together, that the church may become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. . . .

“Those who wear Christ’s yoke will draw together. They will cultivate sympathy and forbearance, and in holy emulation will strive to show to others the tender sympathy and love of which they feel such great need themselves. He who is weak and inexperienced, although he is weak, may be strengthened by the more hopeful and by those of mature experience. Although the least of all, he is a stone that must shine in the building. He is a vital member of the organized body, united to Christ, the living head, and through Christ identified with all the excellencies of Christ’s character so that the Saviour is not ashamed to call him brother. . . .

“A church, separate and distinct from the world, is in the estimation of heaven the greatest object in all the earth. . . . The church is to be as God designed it should be, a representative of God’s family in another world.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 15–17.

What Weakens

“Nothing so manifestly weakens a church as disunion and strife. Nothing so wars against Christ and the truth as this spirit. . . .

“He in whose heart Christ abides recognizes Christ abiding in the heart of his brother. Christ never wars against Christ. Christ never exerts an influence against Christ. Christians are to do their work, whatever it may be, in the unity of the Spirit, for the perfecting of the whole body.” My Life Today, 276.

Manifest Christ’s Qualities

“The life of Christ was a life charged with a divine message of the love of God, and he longed intensely to impart this love to others in rich measure. Compassion beamed from his countenance, and his conduct was characterized by grace, humility, truth, and love. Every member of his church militant must manifest the same qualities, if he would join the church triumphant. The love of Christ is so broad, so full of glory, that in comparison to it, everything that men esteem as great, dwindles into insignificance. When we obtain a view of it, we exclaim, O the depth of the riches of the love that God bestowed upon men in the gift of his only begotten Son!” Christian Education, 76, 77.

“We are to be one with him as he is one with the Father, and then we are beloved by the infinite God as members of the body of Christ, as branches of the living Vine. We are to be attached to the parent stock, and to receive nourishment from the Vine. Christ is our glorified Head, and the divine love flowing from the heart of God, rests in Christ, and is communicated to those who have been united to him. This divine love entering the soul inspires it with gratitude, frees it from its spiritual feebleness, from pride, vanity, and selfishness, and from all that would deform the Christian character.” Ibid., 76.

“How tender we should be in our dealings with those who are striving for the crown of life. He who in love and tenderness has helped a soul in need may at another time be himself in need of compassionate words of hope and courage.—Manuscript 63, May 18, 1898, ‘Home Missionary Work.’ ” This Day With God, 147.

To be continued . . .

Jana Grosboll, an Electrical Engineering graduate student, serves Steps to Life as its Network Administrator. She may be contacted by e-mail at: janagrosboll@stepstolife.org.

Knowing God

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Abraham was called a friend of God. “Art not thou our God, Who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever?” II Chronicles 20:7. James also said, “And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23. In the book, Patriarchs and Prophets, 128, Ellen White wrote these words: “Abraham, ‘the friend of God,’ set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar.”

To become a friend of God, Abraham spent much time with Him on his knees praying. He set up an altar—morning and evening worship. I cannot think of anything more wonderful than having the Creator of the universe, the One Who holds all of the stars and planets in their place and conducts all of the little duties here on this earth and watches over each little thing, as a personal friend. Can you imagine what that means? We need to come to the place where we consider God not only our God and our Creator, which He is, and we do not want to take any of the reverence from that, but we also consider Him as a friend Who hears us, watches what we do and tends to things that happen around us so that our life can walk straight on to the kingdom of heaven.

Considering God as a friend helps to have Him closer to us and helps us to realize that we can turn and talk to Him. It is necessary to come to the place that when you are talking to God you realize that you are talking to a real person. He is your friend. He loves you.

One time, when I was a child, I heard a minister make the remark that the Bible is a love story from God to man. I thought that was funny and I didn’t understand that. But as the years have gone by and I study and read my Bible, I understand from the promises and from the loving things God has told us that it really is a love book to us as human beings. As we read and study we become conscious of His presence. That experience is crucial if someday we are going to be able to walk into the kingdom of God. We have to be able to recognize down here on earth that we have God’s presence, and as we talk and work, or whatever we do, we do it to please Him and not to please man.

Jesus told us, in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” To know Jesus Christ is to have eternal life. We all have a desire to have eternal life, so what we need to do is learn to know God, to know Him better.

Jeremiah 9:23, 24 says, “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches.” This is the part of the verse I want you to pay close attention to. “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”

He says, “in these things I delight.” He delights in loving kindness.

He has given us a whole chapter in the Bible dedicated to teaching us about this subject. This is found in I Corinthians 13:1: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Just to talk and talk is like sounding brass and tinkling cymbals, unless it is in love. We should love one another as we talk to them and think of them.

Paul continues in verses 2 and 3: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. [Charity is the same as love.] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” The most important thing is that we love one another, and if we love one another we will love God.

Continuing with verse 4, “Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind … .” You know, sometimes it takes a long time for a thought to get through, but “love suffereth long.” Sometimes people forget, and we say, “Well, I told you that before.” These quick answers, like, “I told you that before; why don’t you see it?” are not really love. Love suffereth long, and if a person has to be told the same thing ten times, it is still to be with love—it is to be kind and thoughtful.

“Charity [love] envieth not … .” Don’t try to get better than the next fellow. Enjoy who and what he is and be happy for his accomplishments and that he is where he is. And “charity [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” It is not trying to show himself and say, “Hey, this is me; would you pay attention to me?”

“Love doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own …” Verse 5. If you watch children, you quickly acknowledge that they have to be trained. Children do so many things for one purpose, and that is to get attention. But according to I Corinthians 13, we don’t do that. Love does not behave itself unseemly, does not seek her own but seeks others.

It “is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.” Sometimes we forget, and it is so easy to get provoked. We may lose something and find out that somebody has put it where it does not belong, and we are provoked at these things. But love does not do this, because you love the other person so much that it does not bother you. You don’t think evil about people. It is very easy to see somebody do something and then judge their motive in your mind. But love does not think evil about others.

“Charity [love] never faileth: whether there be prophecies, they shall fail …” Verse 8. Now, that really used to bother me, because I always thought that prophecies were supposed to be for sure. But if you stop and think about it, there are prophecies that fail because the conditions of the promises are not lived up to. There were prophecies for Jerusalem that it would stand forever, but look at what happened to it. The city was destroyed. However, in the end the prophecy will be fulfilled and it will stand forever in the New Jerusalem making the prophecy sure. The prophecy that it would stand here on earth failed because men failed God. So, prophecies may fail. “Whether there be tongues, they shall cease … .” We all eventually pass away. “Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” There have been a lot of really bright people in this world, but when their time comes, they too vanish away.

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Verses 9, 10.

It is so wonderful that the Lord has described the meaning of loving kindness. What else does it say in Jeremiah 9:24? “Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” He wants us to know that He exercises loving kindness—so He has given us the description of it. The next thing He says is that He exercises judgment. I read a little bit about this in the Spirit of Prophecy. God’s judgment is true, and you and I need not worry about being mistreated. We do not need to worry about when we get a raw deal on money, care or any other thing, or somebody thinks something about us that is not so and we get treated wrongly. We do not need to worry about those things, because God says He exercises judgment. He takes care of those things. He says, in Romans 12:19, “Vengeance is Mine.” You and I do not need to worry about vengeance or, if you have gotten a wrong deal, about paying somebody back, because the Lord is taking care of those things. He will exercise judgment. We on this earth need to let God take care of the judgments.

The last gift mentioned in Jeremiah 9:24 is so important and so wonderful. He exerciseth “righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” He wants to give us His robe of righteousness! Not one of us can really do right. We just cannot do the right thing all of the time. It is impossible, except as God exercises His righteousness and gives us His robe of righteousness. We must claim this robe of righteousness and practice it, because He says, “for in these things I delight.”

The three things that He says He delights in are: loving kindness, judgment and righteousness. Those are the three things that, as we study, we will become acquainted with God, Whom to know is to have eternal life. Surely each one of us wants to have eternal life. That is one reason we believe. He wants us to enter His kingdom, but the only way we can enter it is to have His beautiful robe of righteousness. We must wear this robe made up of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5:22, 23). These are the fibers that make up His robe. It is well for us to contemplate what God has for us, the wonderful things He will do for us and the goal that He has for us. His goal is that one day we will be with Him in glory. The only way we will do that is to accept His robe of righteousness and wear it day by day.

Remember, love suffers long and is kind. With this love we can perfect a character that will fit into the society of heaven. We are told to practice the kind of life that will be accepted in the society of angels. In The Signs of the Times, July 18, 1878, it says, “The principles of the commandments, carried out in the daily life ennoble and sanctify the heart and mind and give one a moral fitness through Jesus Christ, for the society of holy angels. Our all wise heavenly Father knew what rules were required to guard man from sin and to regulate his life, leading him to practice such virtues as would make him a fit subject for heaven.”

Just think, down here on earth we can begin to enjoy those blessings. It is here that we need to build a character that can stand and be clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.