Love is Greater than Knowledge

Yesterday evening I heard a wonderful message on unity. The main point of the message was that none of us should ever have to feel alone. With that in mind, a portion of my scripture reading stood out to me this morning. It is found in I Corinthians 8:1 –

Now concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but (love) edifies.

In this setting of scripture the Apostle Paul is dealing with a problem that had arisen in the church over foods that were considered clean and unclean. Many of the first Christians were Jewish and had been raised with strict dietary laws. Jewish law forbade anyone to eat meat that had been prepared in a way that was not considered kosher. This especially meant food from an animal that had been killed as part of a ritualistic sacrifice to a pagan god.

The problem was that these early Christians were living in a Greco-Roman world where almost all the meat sold in any public market had been dedicated to some idol. This presented no problem for most of the newly converted gentile Christians. They had not been raised with such strict laws and, as such, were not bothered over eating “unclean” foods. Many of the early churches were made up of a combination of Jewish and Greek or Roman Christians worshipping together. One can see the instant conflict that would arise from this type of situation.

Paul’s solution was simple; if eating meat doesn’t bother my conscience then I will give God thanks for the food and eat it. If it does bother my conscience, I am free not to eat. If a Roman Christian knew that his Jewish brother would be offended by the meat, he would not bring that meat to a church supper. If a Jewish brother saw his Roman brother buying meat in the market he should not judge him. The more important thing was to have unity.

In the opening verse of this chapter Paul says something that I find interesting: “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” This simple principle not only applied to the Corinthian church but applies to us as well. It is easy to think that I know more than my brother or sister knows about a certain situation. I can rely on experience, education, or any number of things for this knowledge. But knowledge can have a way of making one prideful. My pride about how much I know does no one any good. Love, however, will cause me to edify my brother or sister.

We are all entitled to our own opinions. None of us will ever agree on everything. The one who does not eat meat could easily label his brother as worldly; the one who does eat meat might label her sister as old-fashioned. Neither of these opinions edifies anyone. They only cause confusion and offense. True love will always be willing to put aside knowledge for the good of a brother or a sister.

This does not mean that one must compromise genuinely held Biblical principles. There are many things the word of God is clear on, such as the identity of God, the divinity of Jesus, God’s moral nature, and righteous living. The Bible says clearly, “thou shalt not lie.” There is no way to change this to fit a personal idea or conviction. Yet there are many ideas we have that may not be as clear in scripture. A sign of spiritual maturity is to understand the difference between Biblical teaching and my own sense of what is right and proper.

Even when I know I have scripture to back up my convictions, there is a way to present this to a brother or sister. Perhaps this person has never been taught what I know. If so, I should pray that God will help me to show him his error in a way that builds up his faith. I should also be willing to concede that some of my own ideas come from my upbringing and may not necessarily be sound doctrine. Either way, I must do everything in love.

Knowledge is good, but used out of context it can cause me to be proud. True love will always edify the church. As Paul said later on in this same letter to the Corinthian church, the greatest of all spiritual gifts is love (I Corinthians 13:13).

Meditation:

Lord, help me to show someone love today instead of my knowledge. Perhaps, in time, I will be able to also offer instruction. However, I will never be able to offer instruction if a person doesn’t first realize how much I love him.

Grace and Karma

                     Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

The Christian idea of grace is a unique concept among world religions. Grace is often described as unmerited favor with God. In other words, we cannot earn what God has done for us, namely by his sacrifice for our sins on the cross. No amount of hard work could obligate the Master of the universe to become a man, die on a cross, and redeem us. It was all done because of his love for humanity.

Several eastern religions have a concept known as Karma. Karma is basically the idea that one's good deeds in one life will earn him a higher position in the next life. Karma is the exact opposite of grace. Karma says that my wealth or poverty, sickness of health is basically left up to me to decide. If I was good in the last life, I will be healthy in this one. The biggest problem with this, (other than it being unbiblical and illogical), is that one never knows if or when he or she has done enough to deserve a promotion. One is basically left stranded in the hopelessness of an impossible situation.

I think all of us understand that many of life's problems may truly be the result of poor choices, either personal or inherited. Yet the doctrine of Karma does not hold an answer. It simply describes how things are. It's only recourse is that man might recognize his errors and strive to be better. By contrast, Grace is God taking the initiative to solve man's sin problem. Through Calvary, Jesus Christ became a bridge between God and man and gave man hope for a better day.

God's grace is an amazingly personal gift. It is not just an impersonal life force. God desires for each man or woman, boy or girl to come a personal knowledge of his saving grace and develop a personal relationship with him. This personal relationship will help to bring things into proper perspective. Being in right relationship with God will cause me to want to please him. At the same time, it will make me even more aware of the awe-inspiring price of Grace and my inability to earn it for myself.

This Resurrection Sunday let us contemplate God's grace. It is a time for repentance and reflection. If we find that we have fallen short, we can ask God to help us do better. Above all, it is a time for rejoicing in the precious gift of salvation that is made available to all through Calvary! If you have never experienced God's gift of salvation through the power of the Holy Ghost you can do so. Remember, Jesus went to Calvary for you!

Blessings,

Pastor Jones

Father Knows Best

Matthew 18:3 - And said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

I recall a specific incident from my teenage years. At the time, shortly after my dad’s death, my older brother and his wife were living with us. My mom was away from home and my brother was at work. I was about to leave the house when my sister-in-law asked where I was going. I didn’t want to tell her because, being a typical fifteen year old, I thought I was old enough to go where I wanted, when I wanted. When I didn’t answer she said, “You know your mom is going to ask me where you went.”

That day it didn’t make me feel any better but I did tell her where I was going and what time I would be home. I knew that was the rules, I was just testing them. I remember thinking countless times as a child, “I can hardly wait until I’m old enough to do what I want without being told what to do.” I’m still somewhat an independent and perhaps hardheaded individual. I value my privacy and my independence.

This independence is both a good thing and a bad thing. As it relates to being an adult, it can be seen as good. We all have to grow up, hold a job, pay our own bills, etc. When it comes to the kingdom of God, however, things are different. We never outgrow the need to trust God. We never outgrow the need to ask his opinion and his permission before we do something. In fact, the more we grow, and the more responsibility he gives us, the more we need to seek his counsel before we make a move.

All of us were born needy. We had to be fed, changed, and bathed. Our mother (or other caretaker) was our lifeline. We trusted our mothers without reservation. In that same way, we must depend on the milk of God’s word. In time, we grow into eating the meat of God’s word. Yet we never graduate from God’s School of Trust. It is a required course for every stage of life. The Lord wants us dependent on him.

This does not mean that we don’t mature. The mature Christian should automatically know that some things are against God’s word. He or she will not have to ask whether some things are good for him or not. He will know this from reading God’s word, from time in prayer, and from fellowship with other Christians. Yet there will always be times when we must seek God earnestly for the answers we need. God requires this of us. We never graduate from his school of trust. The good thing is that we should never want to because, as the old adage says, “Father always knows best.”

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Sullivan Jones