PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
1 Corinthians 13:5
[Love] does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
CONSIDER THIS
Isn’t it fascinating how Jesus honors a humble heart in the gospels? The story of Zaccheus is a perfect example. His heart was turned toward Jesus, and Jesus responded by honoring him with a house visit (Luke 19:1–10). Jesus didn’t have to put his reputation on the line to go to the home of a chief tax collector. But God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
Jesus is also the embodiment of selflessness. While we can imagine Jesus took care of his own basic needs, his selfless orientation of the heart is to see others lifted up, encouraged, and drawn to the Father. Jesus’s lifestyle is the opposite of a “selfie” lifestyle; Christ’s love seeks the good of the other.
In our anger, we don’t have to sin (Eph. 4:26a). There are moments when Jesus seems to be expressing anger toward the highly religious who are misguiding the faithful. But from 2 Corinthians 5:21, we understand that Jesus was without sin in those moments. In other words, any anger he did convey would have been truly righteous anger. However, even in those moments, we don’t get the picture that Jesus was easily angered. He was quick to love and slow to anger.
Jesus is compassionate and gracious, abounding in love (Ps. 103:8). When a Pharisee became tender to the gospel, he graciously gave them his time and teaching (John 3:21). We never perceive that Jesus is holding grudges or withholding grace from someone who is open to seeing the error of their ways.
With today’s section of 1 Corinthians 13:4–13 in our hearts, let’s repeat our exercise of inserting the name of Jesus in the place of love first and then inserting our own names second.1 We will do this as a declaration of our union with Jesus.
[Love] does not dishonor others, [love] is not self-seeking, [love] is not easily angered, [love] keeps no record of wrongs.
Jesus does not dishonor others, Jesus is not self-seeking, Jesus is not easily angered, Jesus keeps no record of wrongs.
[Insert your name] does not dishonor others, [insert your name] is not self-seeking, [insert your name] is not easily angered, [insert your name] keeps no record of wrongs.
The Spirit of Jesus lives in you and me. Therefore we are not destined to live out the habits of our family of origin, repeating the patterns that came naturally as we coped with difficult and traumatic events. We are not bound to actions that flow from insecurity, a need to be noticed, unhealed hurts, or the tendency to hold a grudge.
We can honor others. Instead of disrespecting those around us by not listening well or not being present, we can help people to feel seen, heard, and valued. We can even honor those with whom we disagree, and in so doing help them become tender to an error that may be in their ways. Jesus can do this through us.
We can seek the good of others. We can be those who, when we walk in a room, are known for being encouragers. We can do this because Jesus is helping us become less self-seeking. We are learning the art of cruciform, cross-shaped love in all things, in all contexts. Jesus can do this work in us.
We can be quick to compassion rather than anger. We can enter into the perspective of the other with whom we are talking, catalyzing understanding rather than igniting indignation. We can be those who are quick to understand another, rather than to demand we first be understood. (Consider investing some time in praying the peace prayer of Francis of Assisi for growth in this aspect of love.)
We can be people who are quick to forgive. We can lose track of offenses, remembering the last time the person was good to us rather than the last time they were hurtful. We can treat others as we want to be treated, forgiving as we have been forgiven (Eph. 4:32; Col. 2:13–14).
Union with Jesus means we are maturing in love. It’s time to leave some of the baggage of our old ways of loving behind so we can be free to embody the honoring, selfless, compassionate love of Christ.
THE PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am in you and you are in me. You know that our old habits die hard. But your indwelling Spirit is giving me the power to live in your way of love. Help me to honor others, seek their good, and act with compassion toward them. In Christ Jesus, I pray, amen.
THE QUESTIONS
What emotions are you quick to respond with in your life right now? Have you become slower, over the years of following Jesus, to engage in negative habits? Can you celebrate, with Jesus, the progress you have made as he lives in and through you?
For the Awakening,
Dan Wilt
NOTES
- J. D. Walt, What Happens in Corinth (Franklin: Seedbed Publishing, 2021), 154–55.
Subscribe to get this in your inbox daily and please share this link with friends.
One Response
“Love doesn’t dishonor.”
In this world
Of dishonor
I want to run
Like a marathoner
To get away
From the put downs.
“Love isn’t self-seeking.”
With all the dedication
To self-glorification
There’s little joy.
“Love is not easily angered.”
The audibility
Of hostility
Is silencing love.
“Love keeps no record of wrongs.”
Our long list of wrongs
Has people singing
Many hateful songs.