Good morning. Continuing where we left off: and
if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be
burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Remember that Jesus did
tell the rich young ruler to give all of his possessions to feed the poor. The
young man had felt that he was lacking something, and his reliance on his
possessions were keeping him from surrendering completely to God. Even if he
had done so, it is highly unlikely that he would’ve done so in love for the people
who were poor. Humans want to “do something“ to gain acceptance into the
kingdom of God; but the reality is that God has done everything, and we simply
have to believe it and accept it. Now Paul lists some of the characteristics of
love. He alternates between what love is, and what love is not. Love is
patient, love is kind. It says that love is patient, not that it has patience.
What’s the difference? You can have patience, but do so without love. In other
words, you merely endure something. But when you operate in love, you
automatically are patient with others. The kindness he is talking about
automatically follows from love. In both of these, you are putting the
well-being of others ahead of your own. Father help us to always put the
well-being of others ahead of our own in love, continually being patient and
kind
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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