PATHWAYS TO FAITH: Give The Gift Of Love! Part 1
We must strive to give the gift of LOVE this Christmas season. The Christian lifestyle of Jesus was the picture of perfect love. This three-part series is being republished to remind us all that living with the loving Spirit of Christ in us is more excellent than any other gift we can give. In the writings of the Apostle Paul, he went to great lengths to help us who claim the name Christian to truly embrace living like Christ. We see Paul’s passion for believers to live like Christ in Chapter 13 of his first letter to the Corinthians, where he argues that living in love of one another is a more excellent way of living than the exclusive exercise of the Spiritual gifts he discusses in Chapter 12. Notice in 1Corinthians 12:31, Paul encourages us to desire or embrace the Spiritual gifts but offers to show us “a more excellent way”. Paul then takes the reader through a series of qualities in Chapter 13 that identifies the characteristics of a loving person. He continues making the case that love is superior to the other gifts he has previously mentioned. In studying Chapter 13 of Paul’s letter we realize that as a Christian our lives are fruitless and pointless without love (see verses 1-3). There is nothing more important in your life than the love of Christ. It is your most valuable possession. The agape love of Christ is your strength in times of weakness, your Continued on Page 10 hope in times of despair, your glory in times of difficulty, and your best when life throws you the worst. The love of Christ and His love abiding in you allows you to embrace the “more excellent way”. Paul is suggesting to us that the excellency of living as a loving person is a lifestyle that pleases God.
Paul says that without love: “ I am nothing”. In essence, if we do not possess the divine love of Christ within us, there is no point to our life. As Christians, we are called to bear fruit and show ourselves ready to serve Jesus whenever and wherever He sends us to minister to His sheep. Paul seems to be saying to us this is the way we must behave to please Christ as we live and work on our Christian journey. In verses 4-8, Paul lays out a roadmap we Christians should follow in living a more excellent life in Christ. We see in these verses that our victory as Christians will be dependent on our willingness to live our lives in a loving way just as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lived His life here in the earth. The Apostle Paul gives us an exhaustive definition of AGAPE LOVE here and does so with a remarkable eloquence showing that Christian love is far more than just giving us a formula for victorious living. In part 2 of this series, we will examine the elements of this formula for victorious living. Dr. Holley is the Senior Pastor at Pathways Christian Fellowship in Bradenton, Florida. Contact Dr. Holley at Wholley777@aol.com.
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