Daily Devotional
Word of the Day
Seeing as Jesus Sees
Pastor Scott
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
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"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
(John 13:35)
The greatest opportunity to allow the fruit of the Spirit to manifest in our lives is through the time that we spend relating to one another. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, [when] ye have love one [for] another" (John 13:35). How do you treat your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you see the value of what they're doing and what they need? Do you put forth the energy to see more Christlikeness formed in them? How patient are you with your brothers' and sisters' growth? Are you as patient with them as you are with yourself? We judge ourselves by our intentions, but we judge others by what we observe and assume. Love doesn't think evil nor behaves itself unseemly. Love rejoices not in iniquity, but hopes all things and endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:5-8).
As we relate to one another and analyze the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, do we expect Christlikeness to be worked in those that we're closest to? It's so easy to overlook the work of the Spirit in the ones we're closest to--since we're aware of everything in their lives--because of one thing that may be offensive to us at the moment. We become so focused on one blemish that we lose the ability to see the whole person. Love doesn't operate that way. Love sees the person as Jesus sees them, as the finished product in the Scriptures. If we take isolated looks at people's lives, we'll probably come up with the wrong conclusion.
What if the only thing you knew about Abraham was that he lied about his wife Sarah being his sister? What if the only thing you knew about David was that he killed his friend? What if the only thing you knew about Peter was that he denied the Lord? Those were some big things in the lives of these men. You don't overlook those things, but you look at the whole man. As you look around the fellowship, people are close and aware of each others' lives. Do you get preoccupied with the things that bug you that don't seem to be improving fast enough? Or can you rejoice that they're in the same pursuit that you are? There's a hunger for God. It may not be the way you would do it or to the degree that you would want to see them pursuing. But, beloved, the biblical principle is if there's fruit, if there's life, then God will involve Himself in that life and prune it to bring forth more fruit.