Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
Willing to be Inconvenienced
Pastor Scott
Thursday, January 22, 2004
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"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"
(1 John 2:17)
How involved are you in others' lives? Don't say, "Be warmed and filled. I'm praying for you, brother." Do something about it! How willing are you to invest your time and your energy? You get a lot of flack many times when you love people properly, because loves always demands chastisement. Are you willing to love enough to lay down your soul for the friendship? "No greater love has any man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
"Life" has to do with our soul--our emotion, our intellect, our will. Lay down your life. Lay down your soul. Don't try to make everybody see things the way you see them, to do things the way you do, or to do things in your time and method. See people for who they are and how God has gifted them. They're unique, and God loves them as they are! He created them that way. Let's make them the best they can be. This is how you lay your soul down and let the Spirit of God love and work through you. That's hard work, but that's the love that God has called us to. As we're able to love with that response, we will see the presence of God and the fruit of the Spirit.
"[Don't] love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18). The love that we have is willing to be inconvenienced, going the second mile, weeping when our brothers and sisters weep, and rejoicing when they rejoice (even in the things that they rejoice in). When they are excited, you might think, "Whoop-de-do." Get excited with them! In the Body, there are times when you do things that are out of your comfort zone to edify and rejoice with others. You willfully empty yourself to build others.
We might see a brother shivering outside in 18-degree weather. You say, "I'm going to believe God to bless you with a new coat like this one I got for Christmas. The one I got last year was starting to show a little wear, and the one I got the year before is what I use to do the yard work in. And the one that I got the year before that is really getting frayed. I'm going to pray that God will bless you, brother."
If we're walking in the spirit, we would probably hear God say, "Give the guy a coat. Love as you've been loved." Which coat should you give him? The one God tells you to. He could lead you to give him the brand new one. He could lead you to give him the four-year-old tattered one. The Spirit of God will tell you to give him the new coat when you're being selfish, when you don't have a spirit of obedience, or a willing heart to give. There will be a dynamic flow as we're living in the Spirit. The Spirit will lead in what's best for both parties. God is looking for what's good for the whole Body.