Be Loving!

September 25, 2025

Be Loving!

The Holy Spirit has given me the gift of discernment regarding the character of other people.  When I listen to the Spirit, I am given an accurate picture of what the other person is really all about. 

Unfortunately, I don’t always listen to the Spirit’s revelation about other people.  When that happens, I often get hurt in small ways and sometimes even in big ways.

Often times the discernment is based on what the other person “wears” on the outside.  There is external evidence of what lies deep in their heart, soul, and mind.  When that evidence is consistently manifest in behavior and words as love, I have found that there is often love filling their heart.

I remember the words of Paul to the church in Colossae.  There Paul describes the things that we should nurture in our relationships with other people.  In Colossians 3:14 Paul writes; “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

It is interesting that Paul says we put love on like we put on a piece of clothing.  Love is something we can see on the outside of the other person.  That love is evidence of a deep, deep love that is healthy and holy in the heart and soul of that person.  When we cover everything on the outside with a love that is like the love of Jesus, Paul says there will be perfect harmony in our relationships with other people.

Perfect harmony was not how the first century church in Corinth would be described.  There was division, conflict, and arguing about all kinds of things.  Even though the Christ-followers in that church had achieved so many good things, they were arguing about everything. 

They argued about who should receive Holy Communion first, who was more spiritually gifted, and who was the better pastor.  They argued about what to do about sexual immorality in the church, how to handle lawsuits against other Christians, and what kinds of food were to be avoided.  They argued about dress codes during worship, style of worship, and how to treat guests in worship.

It is no surprise, then, that towards the end of his letter to the church in Corinth that Paul calls them back to love.  The love to which Paul calls the Christ-followers in that place is not just a love hidden deep in their heart and soul.  Instead, it is a love that is manifest in their actions; it is a love that others could see like a piece of clothing.

In I Corinthians 16:13-14 Paul writes; “Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

Paul is clear that everything we “do” is to be done in love.  Everything we say and everything we do should be done in love.  Our interactions with others should look like love; i.e., our entire lives should look like love!

This was Paul’s hope for the church in Corinth.  With so much division, so much conflict, and so much arguing, the only hope was for them to start doing and saying everything in love…a love other people can see!

The only hope for your life and my life is to do and say everything in the kind of love that other people can see. 

The hope for your busted up relationship with your parent is a love you can see.

The hope for the situation that never seems to get better is a love you can see.

The hope for that job that seems to be going nowhere is a love you can see.

The hope for your broken dream is a love you can see.

The hope for reconciliation with someone who deeply hurt you is a love you can see.

The hope for the expulsion of the darkness that keeps you depressed is a love you can see.

The hope for a marriage slipping away is a love you can see.

The hope for the forgiveness that seems to never come is a love you can see.

The hope for which our heart longs is a love we can see in Jesus and that others can see in everything we do and say.

When we place our hope in the power of Jesus’ love to be part of everything we do and say, peace and love and joy will define our life while delight in the Lord will overflow in our heart.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug