1 Corinthians 13:1-13,
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
13 But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Good deeds not done in love mean nothing. Christians are called to do everything In love.
I have been dealing with someone who twists most of the things I say to mean the opposite of what I meant. As a result, many now think I’m horrible and are sitting in judgment of me. There is nothing I can do about it. I try and explain what I mean, but I’m just ignored. I want to walk away, but walking away would be abandoning a burden I have had for two years. And God won’t allow me to walk away.
I almost died recently of sepsis. It still bothers me and doctors are watching me, but it could still happen. Any day I could fall prey to its poison and die. It’s been a daily fight for about six months. I have lost 45-50 lbs. since it began. I cannot walk very far without falling. Tonight my wife and I were at a school graduation and while we were standing as the kids were walking out of the auditorium the room started spinning in my eyes. It kept spinning for a few minutes. I was so disoriented that I had to hold on to an empty seat beside me to keep from falling. It finally stopped and we walked down the aisle to go outside. I had to grab the back of every seat on the way out to keep from falling. I went straight to the car and waited for my wife to visit our granddaughter. This, too, is from the sickness I’ve been battling.
So with my physical ailments, my spiritual ailments, and my friendship ailments I’m pretty worn out. At times I wish the Lord would take me just to relieve the pressure. I’m 80 years old. I don’t know how much more I can take.
Why am I writing this? I am writing it because I want to stop my self-pity and love this person with total purity, regardless of how I’m treated. Even while in pain, I should be patient and kind. I should not take into account a wrong suffered. I should bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. I should rest in the promise that love never fails.
May God forgive my failures and shortcomings and give me strength to walk upright so He may be glorified.
Jon David Banks, God’s most UNWORTHY servant
jondavidbanks.com 