Loving You is significant

"He sees me"

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 13:1 Or languages
2. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts body to the flames

1 Corinthians 13:1-7

The Message (MSG)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

A life of significance

What makes a life meaningful and significant?

What is time well spent?

How do I leave a lasting and meaningful legacy
for when my life is over and done?

Thank you Lord, thank you

I hear you in this passage

Yes, you tell me plainly,  even painfully 

all my so called great accomplishments

acts of devotion and service

sharing of wisdom and experience

are nothing 

without you and your love

no matter what I say
without love it is nothing

worse than nothing

a harsh, grating sound

bringing no pleasure to anyone

not helpful at all

no matter what gifts I have

or how much faith I have

without love

I am nothing at all

it will leave nothing lasting behind

bring no deep transformative change to anyone

no matter how sacrificial I try to be

no matter what I try to give up

no matter what I try to endure

for the sake of others

without your love in it

I have accomplished nothing of true lasting value

without your love in it

these verses seem so harsh,
cutting down so much of what I look to to feel good about myself
and what I have done,
what gifts God has given,
what actions or sacrifices I have tried to make

but there is something so incredibly beautiful and powerful here

If this is true...
then the the other side of the coin must also be true...

When I speak, haltingly, in simple words that could easily be despised by anyone, 

including myself

 for their lack of eloquence, grace, wisdom etc.

If I speak or act in love, whether impressive or knowledgeable 

by anyone's estimation or not

If I am filled with your love

and it moves me to speak or act

what I believe to be your words or actions

your thoughts and way

instead of mine

this is significant

whether it seems so to me

or to whom I am speaking

or to any one at all

whether I feel good or bad about it

whether it seems to make any difference or not

The measure you give us:

is it done in love?

your love

that does not run out

that does not get irritated 

or envious

that is not motivated by the object at all

or what kind of response I may or may not 

get in return

because love is your essential nature

it defines who you are

and everything you do or say

You cause the sun to shine and 

the rain to fall 

on the evil and the good

because that is who you are

"This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty." Matthew 5:45 The Message

You do not love because you will be loved in return

or someone will understand you

or someone will appreciate you

or you believe you will get desirable results

You can enable me to love

anyone

anywhere

anyhow

no matter what I think,

you count this as lasting and significant

So, as I sit here struggling 

I couldn't impress anyone if I tried

Whether those closest to me understand or appreciate me

whether my children rise up to respect

love and appreciate me

or they don't

whether anyone in my neighborhood 

or at my church 

thinks I am _____________ :)
or thinks I am____________ :(

You

are saying:

this is significant

this is lasting

this is meaningful

this will bear lasting fruit

whether you see it 

or understand it 

or not 

right now

because you have done it

unto me

"The King will reply, 'Truly, I tell you,
whatever you did
for one
of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.'"
Matthew 25:40NIV

"His master said to him,
 'Well done good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little;
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of your Master.'"
Matthew 25:23 ESV

"...The LORD does not look at
the things people look at.
People look at the outward appearance,
but the LORD
looks at the heart."
I Samuel 16:7

"For the eyes of the LORD run

to and fro

throughout the whole earth

to show himself strong 

on behalf of those

whose heart is loyal

to Him..."

II Chronicles 16:9 NKJV

none of us have this heart...

"Create in me a clean heart O God.
 Renew a loyal spirit
within me."
Psalm 51:10 
The Living Bible

but we can cry out to God to do His work within 

to do and give us what we cannot

to give us Joy In You

whether we feel meaningful, significant,

beloved, helpful 

or otherwise

"Though the fig tree 

should not blossom,

And there be no fruit on the vines

Though the yield of the olive shall fail

And the fields produce no food

Though the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet, I will exult in the LORD.

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength.

And he has made my feet like hinds feet.

and makes me walk in my high places."

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV

 a gentle pushing back...

for some of us right now

who truly do not have the strength, time or energy to

do what most would consider beautiful and meaningful

 I would love to 

bake with my children

prepare gifts for others

travel to _________

 give _________ to ____________
but really am not able to at this time...

For those who are looking for work

not because the are looking for a career 

that is meaningful and significant

but because the family needs to eat

who may truly need to take a job they do not even like

because the family needs to eat

some of the wonderful and beautiful encouragements 

to find your passion

to those whom there is no one else to hand the baby off to,

to go and ___________

some of these encouragements can, without meaning to

place a burden on the heart

undermine 

without meaning to
the value God places
in the hidden, unseen, mundane,
even the trivial and tedious
done in love for Him

for those who cannot do beautiful craft projects

who can barely keep the children clean and well - fed

whose passion is to have just one night of undisturbed sleep

God sees you

God values you

God can make what you are doing so significant

For those who are shut in caring for the shut in

For those whose health has boxed them in

and put so much out of reach 

For those for whom the care of family 

takes nearly all available resource

God sees you

God values you

God knows what you are doing

out of love for Him

For those who experience severe limitation

in body, soul, mind, spirit

God is not limited to work in you

and through you

to shine His Glory

to fill you 

and use you

for unspeakable 

unimaginable 

good

Oh Lord,
You who have experienced all we do
you who are not a high priest who 
cannot be touched with all the feelings of our infirmity
you know severe pain, loss, grief,
 limitation
death

You who Paul, could say with confidence
I know how to abound and I know how to suffer
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Help us to not close our hearts to whatever you call us to
whether it be our wildest dreams come true
or the hardest challenge we have ever faced.
Help us to find our joy in you 
and remain there through 
the heights and depths this life 
has to offer

Help us to live in your love
to fully believe and receive your love
in the midst of our exhilarations
our joys, our sorrows
our depletion
our confusion 
our disappointment

Help me to love you 
more than all else 
and know your love
that
abides 
through all else

"we love you because you have first loved us"
I John 4 :10

Please take this splinter out

Yesterday afternoon I looked down to discover that a 1/4 in splinter had wedged itself somehow under the skin on the middle finger of my right hand. I have no idea how it got there or when it happened but there it is.

There is not enough of an edge to pull out either way.

Being in my finger means that I only have the 5 other fingers on one hand to try to do the job of  trying to grasp and remove this foreign object from inside my first line of defense for my body - my skin

I cannot do this job myself.

It is a relative simple job and will only take 10-15 min and the right tool(s).

But I cannot do it alone.

I need help from another.

I got so busy last night that the tiny pressure from the splinter, while mildly discomforting, was not enough to remind me to ask someone to help me.
It got put off and forgotten.

I woke up at 5 in the morning. Oh, my finger hurts. Why is that?

Oh yeah I forgot about that splinter

the offending object shoved into me
the small break off point of something I handled
remains lodged in me still

how I let things that happen to me
words that are said to me
actions of others that I experiece
get under my skin
lodge into me
remain with me long after I am no longer around that person or event
affecting me long after

It is when all is quiet and calm that the pain and pressure present themselves
perhaps this is why so many of us avoid the quiet and the calm?

It is 9 am now
there is a red area around the splinter about 1/4 inch in diameter
The pain is stronger now and not so easy to forget about

My body is trying to remain healthy
but this foreign object is fighting against that
 a continual source of contamination as long as it is jammed inside of me.

It will still only take 10-15 min to remove
but now I had better use some antibacterial cream
and soak it in hot water a few times
to make sure the germs that are rapidly multiplying are vanquished

again the lesson - my body needs help and support from somewhere outside of itself

but now the amount of effort it will take to heal has gone up dramatically

With the passing of time and left untreated
 this will turn into a trip to Urgent Care
the germs do not care about my scedule or the other plans I had for this time
they have their own agenda...

I am home alone

I have asked a friend and neighbor to help me

I am afraid others will be busy
will be annoyed at the interruption of my need
the claim my need will make on them

but it is a need
I must seek help
I need help

no matter how someone may respond or not respond

I must seek out assistance

Matthew 7:1-5J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

7 1-2 “Don’t criticise people, and you will not be criticised. For you will be judged by the way you criticise others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive.”

3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye’, when there is a plank in your own? You fraud! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck of dust.”

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", 1962 edition by HarperCollins

We all need help so be careful how you look at and treat others

How interesting

a splinter, a log, a plank, not just in my finger affecting what I can and cannot do but in my eye distorting how I see and view others and their words and actions

over time the body can build a callous around something and you no longer feel it anymore

it becomes part of you

Oh Lord, I see I see

I see how my own pride, my own self-pity, my own resentments, my own pain and insecurity have stuck into me

in my eye

twisting and distorting all I see and how I respond to others

the remnants of past wounds still remain to poison the present

Yet you tell me to remove my own splnter

in my eye no less!

HOW?

Maybe this means to come before you and let you show it to me, make me aware of it

but then ask you to remove it

Oh Lord, I need you 

I need you so much

I need you to help me face the pain I bury

the hurts that have festered

there is nerve damage

I no longer feel or am aware of these splinters in my soul

until someone inadvertently hits one and WOW

such a reaction

they are confused

what I am saying and doing is so out of porportion to what they said or did

Why?

Oh Lord, 

I need your healing touch in me

O Divive Doctor you

diagnose for your diagnosis is always spot on

peel back the layers of denial, anger, blaming and excusing

to cut to the core of the problem

my hurt and need of you

help me to not make excuse or blameshift

to lay still and quiet as you use your word (it is perfectly sterile and will not add in further contamination) to slice in

to grasp 

to pull out

it is painful and humiliating 

but oh what a relief

to see clearly

to understand truth in each situation and relationship

to be unencumbered to respond in love to what another needs

instead of reacting out of my____________

Matthew 7:7-12J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. The one who asks will always receive; the one who is searching will always find, and the door is opened to the man who knocks.”

9-11 “If any of you were asked by his son for bread would you be likely to give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish would you give him a snake? If you then, for all your evil, quite naturally give good things to your children, how much more likely is it that your Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him?”

12 “Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them—this is the essence of all true religion.”

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", 1962 edition by HarperCollins

Matthew 6:22-23New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

22 “The eye is like a lamp for the body. Suppose your eyes are good. Then your whole body will be full of light. 23 But suppose your eyes are bad. Then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it is very dark!

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Biblica

John 13 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now showed them how much he really loved them.

2 The evening meal was being served. The devil had already tempted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. He had told Judas to hand Jesus over to his enemies. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put everything under his power. He also knew he had come from God and was returning to God.

4 So he got up from the meal and took off his outer clothes. He wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter.

“Lord,” Peter said to him, “are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter. “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you can’t share life with me.”

9 “Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!”

10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs to wash only his feet. The rest of his body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are.”

11 Jesus knew who was going to hand him over to his enemies. That was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.

16 “What I’m about to tell you is true. A servant is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. 17 Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.

Sweet potent perfume

Anointing His Feet

36-39 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”

40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

41-42 “Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”

43-47 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”

“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”

48 Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”

49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”

50 He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

she didn't come to correct even when there were obvious issues and needs ( not to say there is not a time to speak the truth in love to help another)

but on this occaision

quite possibly she never spoke at all
if she did, her words are nor recorded for us

just her actions

She saw only one person in that whole full room

she came to pour out on Christ
it came with a breaking
an irrevocable breaking (other translations state the jar of perfume had to be broken to release the perfume)

but then the smell of the perfume broke upon the scene
wafting gently through the air
carried to every hidden corner
every nook and cranny
filling the house
anoiting all who were present

affecting all who were nearby
none could avoid it
all in proximity were affected

some for the better
some for the worse
but none were the same

this passage from 1Peter 2: 21- 3:4 is complex and easily misunderstood but I believe it shows one thing clearly

I can have a powerful affect on others
even difficult others
by focusing on Jesus
on how he lived, responded and interfaced with our suffering, our need

1 Peter 2:21-3:6The Message (MSG)

21-25 This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.

He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.

They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.

Cultivate Inner Beauty

3 1-4 The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty. What matters is not your outer appearance—the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes—but your inner disposition.

4-6 Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as “my dear husband.” You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

seeing his love,
his humility
his care
his selflessness

it changes me
it draws my heart to his beauty

all else fades into the background  (see note below)

seeing him changes me

as I change - the aroma of his sweet love can spread from me

this person in front of me
who ever it may be
with all their complexity
with all thier difficulty
and difficultness

is really just the opportunity Jesus is giving
 to pour out
not even my own perfume
but the most expensive
the most lovely and beautiful aroma there is

sweet Jesus

showing mercy with cheerfulness
showing care and bringing hope
patient and kind and strong as steel
firm and unchanging and brave
yet gentle and kind and tender

sometimes I feel so frustrated
so helpless
there is so little one can do to really change circumstances or another person
even one's own self

difficult and challenging relationships and situations

I am so glad he does not say it is simple
or a quick and easy fix in three steps

He of all most knows that relationships are difficult
painful
even bloody and cruel
it was so for him
to the extreme

but it is not really about that other person at all

it is about you

they don't deserve _______ !
I don't deserve _________ !

I can't love them with what they need
they can't love me with  what I need

we all need you, sweet Jesus

I cannot choose for another
I cannot change another

I can only choose to come to you, sweet Jesus
and pour out my soul to you
all my longings and despair
all my passion and desire
all my words
all my heart
all my tears

you listen
you care
you understand
you empathize

you do not excuse
you do not minimize
dismiss or make light of any of it

You know what it is to be human, fully human with all its confusion and complexity

You cool my burning
You soothe my wounds
You calm my mind
You comfort my heart
You bring new life
new hope
new love
forgivenes and the opportunity
to begin again


we pour out on you by pouring out your love on those who are in front of us
to love the one God has put in front of me
this is how I pour out love on you

it has an effect

Ephesians 5:1-2New King James Version (NKJV)

Walk in Love

5 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,

2 Corinthians 2:14-15The Message (MSG)

 In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.

a perpetual victory parade not because it all goes the way I want it to
or I do everything right

but because I am seeing you in all your beauty
I am inhaling your life changing chemistry

and even the exhale can be sweet to you and all around

we love because you have first loved us

(NOTE - if you think you might be in an abusive or unsafe relationship - please be honest and admit this is a possibilty and get help.  Find a counselor, neighbor, friend, family member to help you be safe.)

(Second note - The passage in 1 Peter 3:1-6 is focusing on the relatinship between wives and husbands, I believe the same overall principle applies to any relationship - as I change through my relationship with Jesus Christ, it affects how I view and interact with others in any relationship because I am an active ingredient in this relationship!