1 Corinthians 13
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
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Yesterday, Faith, Hannah, and Hannah's friend Sarah from Liberty came to meet me for lunch at work. I showed them around the office a bit and then we went to a Mexican restaurant and sat outside near a little lake. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we began talking about a wedding that Hannah and Sarah had been to the day before. As they shared some wedding details, we discussed how many Liberty students find their future spouses and get married quickly after college. But, then a comment that Sarah made gave me pause. She remarked that she had heard about a good number of divorces of former Liberty students and that people had this perception that marriages of liberty students were no longer-lasting than other US marriages.
We agreed that it is sad that the body of believers seems to set no higher standard for marriage than the world as a whole. Maybe this is because Christians feel that if you marry another Christian that there will be no conflict and it will be easy. It could be that they think that since this marriage is ordained by God, they will not need to work at it all that much. Today's verse is probably the most popular passage for wedding ceremonies. It gives many examples of what love is and is not such as: patient, kind, protecting, trusting, not envious, not boastful, not proud, and maybe the most important, not self-seeking.
If we are to have marriages that are lasting and set apart from the world, we need to mirror the love of 1 Cor 13, and of Christ himself. If we try to have a 50/50 relationship, we will end up with a "zero" marriage. I pray that we all will continually work on our marriages and strive to love our spouses as Christ loved the church and always put them first.
...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!
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Family Update: Last Thursday we met with the surgeon again and decided to just keep trying to aspirate the hematomas and take no further action at this point. Kay had another sonogram at the hospital yesterday and there again was nothing to aspirate. However, things seem to be breaking up somewhat on their own so we will keep going down that path for the foreseeable future. Kay also had another radiation treatment yesterday after a 4 day holiday weekend and is still tolerating the treatments well. In fact, Kay said that much of the redness had faded in over the weekend. Thanks for the continued prayers for healing!
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